Tear Stained Whispers
by Ashlyn Darcy
Summary: Lilith is not an average witch. For one thing, she is the daughter of the Dark Wizard named Rabastan Lestrange. She is forced to make a choice between whether or not to side with the Death Eaters because of her childhood friendship with Draco. He's now a Death Eater given an impossible mission to accomplish without any help. Will Lilith be able to help Draco? Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**_Tear-Stained Whispers_  
**

_By xX Ashlyn Malfoy Xx_

_Summary: Lilith is not an average witch. For one thing, she is the daughter of the Dark Wizard named Rabastan Lestrange. She is forced to make a choice between whether or not to side with the Death Eaters because of her childhood friendship with Draco. He's now a Death Eater given an impossible mission to accomplish without any help. Will Lilith be able to help Draco without the Dark Lord ever suspecting anything? What would happen if her parents found out about her growing fondness for the Malfoy boy? __Will she finally be able to fight for what she believes in? _Will the two survive the Final Battle?

**Prologue**

It was a dark summer's day. A huge black cloud covered the bright sun, casting long, dark shadows over an elegant old manor. Lestrange Manor. Lush, tall trees grew by the dark manor, providing an ample amount of unneeded shade. What the manor desperately needed was sunshine and more life. Beside the luxurious trees, numerous bushes, and flower patches, there were small ripples and splashes in an otherwise tranquil pond.

A girl of around sixteen sat at the pond's stony edge, her legs immersed in the clear water up to her knees. The dark-haired girl gently kicked at the water, sending small, crystal-like droplets onto the smooth rocks on the other side. Her pet Kneazle purred as it brushed against her side, its long, lion-like tail caressing the girl's pale hand.

"Get Milly to feed you," The girl rubbed her Kneazle's furry speckled neck. "I haven't seen any rodents in here for you to catch. Be sure to make sure that Milly gets the message. She's getting very old now." The grey Kneazle, Smoke, purred and pounded off into the manor in search of the house-elf.

Lilith glanced back at the pond, seeing her pale reflection stare back at her, her dark brown hair mixing in with the shadows provided by the cloud and the trees. Her amber eyes were similar to two small hints of sunlight in the mirror image.

"Lilith? Where are you? Don't tell me you are outside by the pond again!" The girl raised her amber eyes from the pond immediately and looked in the direction of her manor in panic. She quickly jumped up and dried her legs, letting her long dress cover them. Lilith slipped into her shoes.

"No, Mother!" Lilith called back, sprinting to a flower patch swiftly. "I was admiring the roses!" Lilith quickly sat down on a small patch of smooth stones beside the flower patch and pretended to be watching the various flowers. It was one of the few places with any actual colors other than grey and black. She quickly dried off a few more droplets on her legs and stopped immediately when she heard footsteps on the concrete path.

"Again?" Mrs. Lestrange asked, coming into view. Her amber eyes were filled with disapproval. "You've already seen them so many times. You really ought to do more with your life other than watch flowers grow. They are just _flowers _after all."

Cassandra Nott Lestrange was Lilith's mother and wife to Rabastan Lestrange who was now in Azkaban. Mrs. Lestrange was a tall witch and had an air of sternness around her. She also strived for perfection and respect. Her amber eyes were sharp and cold; she rarely ever smiled or laughed. Mrs. Lestrange's dark hair was always up in a bun or into one of the many hairstyles that she considered regal and neat.

"Why is your hair down again?" Mrs. Lestrange sighed sternly, crossing her arms. "And why are you lying on the ground like a Muggle? Do I need to remind you _once more_ that you are a pureblooded witch from a well-respected family?" Lilith almost snorted at the end of the last question but quickly contained it. Everyone knew that the Lestranges weren't well-respected anymore. They haven't been for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Lilith stood up, her eyes conveying no emotion. "I wanted to see if there were any new roses so I came here in a haste. I really love admiring the multi-colored roses. See? There's a new bud, a pink rose." Lilith pointed to the light pink flower. It was a common rose but was more beautiful than the other multi-colored roses.

Mrs. Lestrange seemed to believe the lie, though she still raised her eyebrows in distrust.

"Fine," She said briskly. "Come, now, Lilith. We need to get ready to go to Malfoy Manor. The Dark Lord would be most displeased if we don't show up in time for the meeting." _Most displeased_, Lilith snorted derisively as she followed her mother back into Lestrange Manor. _He won't be displeased. He'd be furious and kill us once we set foot in the manor two minutes late._

Mrs. Lestrange wasn't a Death Eater, but she supported them. Rabastan Lestrange and his brother, Rodolphus, were all back in Azkaban with Lucius Malfoy, who was technically Lilith's distant-related uncle. Lilith's aunt Bellatrix had escaped, but barely.

Lilith had only seen her father a few times. He'd been in Azkaban prison almost all of her life.

Until January 1996. Lilith had been halfway through her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She'd read the news about the mass breakout in the _Daily Prophet_. After that day, everyone gave her strange looks and avoided her at all costs.

Lilith hadn't minded in the least. She enjoyed being alone. But she didn't like people whispering about her and her family. Lilith was a Lestrange. And she was proud of it, even if Lestranges were no longer respected and looked up to. She didn't care at all what others thought. Most had thought she was Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange's daughter. It took some convincing to tell the other students _and _the teachers that she was, in fact, Rabastan Lestrange's daughter.

However, even being Rabastan's daughter made people cringe around her and distance themselves from her as much as possible. Lilith remembered the time she got Sorted.

_"L-L...Lestrange, Lilith," McGonagall broke off a little as she read out the name. Not call. Whispers and gasps broke out from the four House tables at once. Lilith walked out of the cluster of students arrogantly, silently challenging the teachers with her sharp amber eyes. Lilith saw McGonagall's hand tremble just a little as she dropped the Hat over Lilith's head, covering her eyes._

A cunning and elusive mind... I know just where to put you_, the Sorting Hat had told her. Lilith smirked slightly as the Hat pronounced her a Slytherin only seconds after the Hat was put on her head. She took a seat beside her new friend, Tracey Davis, whom she had met on the Hogwarts Express. She felt over a thousand pairs of eyes on her and yet Lilith didn't care. She was proud to be a Lestrange._

Lilith remembered the very first time she saw her father. Her father wasn't even there when she was born. He had always been too busy with his Death Eater duties. Lilith had been very disappointed when she learned that only one of her parents actually took care of her. Now, she didn't care about her relationship with her father at all. He could just be another person in Lilith's life, nothing more.

It had been during Easter break when Rabastan Lestrange suddenly appeared on the doorstep of Lestrange Manor. Rabastan Lestrange was very similar to Lilith. She had his dark hair, pale complexion, and cold personality. Lilith had gotten Cassandra Lestrange's amber eyes and her fiery attitude.

_"Hello, Father," Lilith had said to begin the conversation. She was only fifteen at that time. She felt nothing when she looked at her father. Nothing. No love. No surprise. No happiness. It was like she was greeting any other student at Hogwarts. "Pleasure to meet you." _At last_, Lilith had added in her mind. _

_Rabastan was a tall and regal-looking wizard. He would've had good looks if it hadn't been for Azkaban. Rabastan seemed weak and malnourished but there was a small spark in his dark eyes. That was the only clue that he was alive._

_"Lilith," Rabastan nodded. "It's pleasant to see you, too. I heard that you do well in school and are on the Slytherin Quidditch team." Lilith had almost scoffed at that. Rabastan was obviously not very well-educated about what Lilith did in school._

_"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not on the team," Lilith shook her head. "I'm on the reserve team as Beater and Chaser. I try my best at school, but I'm not the best in my year." She didn't get _fantastic _grades but she got good ones. Grades good enough for a Lestrange._

The Lestrange father and daughter didn't talk a lot after that. They could've been two strangers discussing the weather or talking about the Chudley Cannons' latest loss to the Tutshill Tornados.

"I heard that they are welcoming a new Death Eater," Mrs. Lestrange told Lilith as the two walked up the stone path back to the manor.

"Really?" Lilith asked, quickly reaching now and then to wipe away the remnants of the pond water. Her legs were almost completely dry now. There were only a few stray droplets. "Who is it?"

"It's a secret," Mrs. Lestrange shook her head. "Narcissa had told me. Pity that your father and uncle wouldn't be able to attend."

They had been imprisoned back in Azkaban with Lucius Malfoy after fighting with Harry Potter and his friends in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic a few weeks before.

"Cassandra, Lilith," Lilith's aunt Bellatrix greeted them. She was already dressed in her usual attire. Lilith and her mother shared the manor with Bellatrix as they were all Lestranges. "Hurry up! We need to go soon. The Dark Lord does not like to be kept waiting, especially at such an important ceremony."

_What could be so important?_ Lilith thought as she hurried up the stairs to change into a more appropriate and formal attire. She decided on a black dress that reached her knees and black flats along with a silver locket. One would think that she was attending a funeral.

Lilith hated to admit it, but she was dead scared of the Dark Lord. She had never conversed with him and wished to maintain that status for the rest of her life. She feared that she would say that wrong thing and that her life would be over because of it.

Lilith walked down the stairs and waited with Aunt Bellatrix for her mother to finish dressing up. Lilith didn't have a wonderful relationship with her aunt, either. She was frightened of her too, and for good reason. Lilith remembered her mother telling her about Aunt Bellatrix, Uncle Rodolphus, and her father torturing the two Longbottom Aurors into insanity. Lilith very well wished that it wouldn't ever happen to her.

After Mrs. Lestrange joined them, all three witches used Side-Along Apparition to Apparate to Malfoy Manor.

Lilith had been to Malfoy Manor many times and was quite used to the huge metal gate though it still scared her a little when it spoke. Lilith had gone to Death Eater meetings a few times though she was quite glad that nothing happened that involved her. She was also glad that she didn't have the Dark Mark on her forearm, like her mother and Narcissa Malfoy. If she did and the teachers at Hogwarts found out, she'd be either thrown out of the school or be imprisoned by the Order of the Phoenix.

"Hurry up, now!" Bellatrix told Mrs. Lestrange and Lilith. Both quickened their pace after passing the gate. The handsome manor soon came into view. Malfoy Manor. Death Eater Headquarters. "We really wouldn't want to miss this."

Bellatrix Lestrange led the way into the manor and to the drawing-room, Mrs. Lestrange and Lilith following soon after.

Most of the other Death Eaters had already gathered there, though there weren't many. Lilith immediately spotted her classmate, Draco Malfoy, standing with his mother, Narcissa. It was not surprising that Lilith's cousin, Theodore Nott, wasn't present.

Mrs. Lestrange had been Cassandra Julianna Nott before she was married and her brother was the father of Theodore, Alexander Nott. He had also been a Death Eater and was currently in Azkaban.

Theodore and Lilith weren't close. They were in the same House, of course, but they rarely conversed about anything but homework and Quidditch.

Lilith gulped a little when she saw the Dark Lord. He was as menacing as ever with his vivid red eyes and snow-white face. She gave a tiny eye roll of disgust when she saw her Aunt Bellatrix smiling and eyeing the Dark Lord as though he were something she desperately prized. Aunt Bellatrix's eyes were almost bursting with lust and passion and her voice dripped with love and loyalty when ever she spoke to him.

Soon, everyone was seated though there were still a few other Death Eaters talking with each other. Lilith was seated beside Draco and Mrs. Lestrange.

Lilith was technically a long-distance cousin to Draco, though they weren't blood-related. Lilith's father was Bellatrix's brother-in-law and Bellatrix was Narcissa Malfoy's older sister.

Lilith and Draco were good friends at Hogwarts, though Lilith wasn't as good of a friend to Draco as Crabbe, Goyle, or Pansy, who seemed to follow him everywhere. Lilith glanced at the young wizard and realized that he seemed nervous and frightened but there was a look of triumph in his grey eyes.

"Fellow Death Eaters," The Dark Lord began to speak. All conversation died out at once. To Lilith, the Dark Lord was very similar to Professor Dumbledore. Whenever either of them started speaking, everyone would stop what they're doing at once and listen. "I have called you all here today for a very special ceremony. An initiation ceremony. Today, we welcome a new Death Eater to our ranks."

Whispers and murmurs broke out along the small group of Death Eaters that gathered in the room. A new Death Eater was really something to celebrate at that time. Many of the other Death Eaters were in Azkaban.

"Draco Malfoy, come up here," The Dark Lord acknowledged the pale boy. Lilith's eyes widened a little and she let out a small gasp as she watched the pale boy walk up to the Dark Lord. Lilith observed that he did not swagger as he usually did. There were even more whispers and murmurs as well as a few gasps of shock. Lilith looked at Narcissa. She seemed extremely frightened.

"Draco Malfoy, do you pledge your loyalty to the Dark Lord and to the other Death Eaters?" The Dark Lord asked, standing up as Draco approached him, drawing out his wand. He towered over Draco.

"I do," Draco nodded, though his voice quivered ever so slightly.

"Will you do your best to complete the mission that I have provided for you? Without anyone else's help?" Lilith furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. _A mission? What would Draco be expected to do? _"And knowing that, if you had any help, you, your entire family, and the helper will be killed instantly?"

"I will," Draco nodded once more. Lilith could almost feel the excitement and hesitation vibrating from Draco even from far away.

"Will you remain faithful to the Death Eaters and to the Dark Lord and promise to serve them until the day you die?"

"I-I will," Draco said, his voice shaking just the tiniest bit.

"Hold out your left forearm." Draco pushed up the sleeve of his robes and held it up to the Dark Lord. Lilith noticed that it was shivering slightly.

The Dark Lord pressed the tip of his wand to Draco's forearm. Lilith noticed the sudden change in emotion in Draco's grey eyes. Triumph and eagerness was quickly replaced by pain and agony. He was clenching his teeth tightly as the Dark Lord pressed the tip of his wand even harder to his forearm while muttering an incantation. A dark shape was forming onto Draco's pale skin from the tip of the wand. Draco seemed to be doing everything he could to refrain from screaming.

Lilith felt pity for the boy. It seemed as though he were experiencing some sort of hell. Lilith felt uncomfortable seeing Draco like that. Lilith looked beside her and saw Narcissa cover her mouth with both hands in fright.

After a small amount of time, the Dark Lord lifted his wand and the other Death Eaters began to applaud. Lilith couldn't bring herself to. Lilith saw Draco try to grip his left arm but it seemed to sting him. She saw him stumble to and lean against a wall, clutching his arm, his eyes closed and his mouth in a tight, thin line.

"Lilith Lestrange," The Dark Lord turned to Lilith. Almost frozen with shock, Lilith forced her stiff legs to move as she stood up. _Oh dear Merlin... _She thought. _Do _I _need to become a Death Eater too? How could _I _ever be of use to the Dark Lord?_

"Y-yes, my Lord?" Lilith asked in a voice that was just a little higher than a squeak. She was absolutely terrified though she tried to show no emotion in her amber eyes. She hoped that the Dark Lord wouldn't mind her squeaky, house-elf-like voice.

"Your mother tells me that you are good at healing," The Dark Lord remarked. Lilith could only nod jerkily. She wasn't particularly gifted in the art of healing but there were a few times in which she had helped the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, heal some students. "Make sure that Malfoy recovers from receiving the Dark Mark. Perhaps we could have you as a healer in our ranks."

"Yes, my Lord," Lilith nodded once more, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. _You are not going to become a Death Eater, so calm down... _Lilith told herself as she walked over to where Draco was leaning against the wall. "I'll do my best."

Lilith took Draco by his right arm and quickly led him out of the room. Lilith and Draco walked into a long corridor and then into the living room. She sat him down in a couch beside the fire.

"Draco, give me your arm," Lilith told him. With high reluctance, Draco complied and shakily showed Lilith his forearm. Lilith gently touched the area beside the Dark Mark and quickly withdrew her hand when she realized it was extremely hot and stung her fingers.

"Ice, you need ice to stop the temperature from rising even further," Lilith muttered. "Milly!" The old house-elf appeared at once with a loud crack. "Get me some ice in a pack and my medicine bag." With a bow and another crack, Milly disappeared.

"It hurts so much..." Draco winced and moaned, staring in shock at his forearm, now branded with a dark snake coming out of a skull's mouth. It was very vivid and a sharp contrast against his chalk-white skin. Lilith turned away from it as it moved quite sickeningly on Draco's white skin. Lilith knew that Draco could very well be acting dramatic and attention-seeking but chose to brush it off. "My arm feels like it's on fire.t"

"It'll be all right, Draco," Lilith awkwardly patted Draco's right arm in an attempt to be comforting. After a bit, Milly came back with a small pack full of ice and the medicine.

"What took you so long?" Lilith snatched the remedies from the house-elf's old wrinkly hands and confronted the house-elf. "You were gone for over five minutes! How hard can it be to fetch ice and a bag?"

"Milly is sorry," Milly bowed. "Milly had forgotten where it was." Almost immediately following her apology, she began to repeatedly bang her head against the floor to punish herself.

"Away with you, Milly," Lilith told the house-elf coldly, though she silently smirked when she saw that Milly was punishing herself. "And, next time, remember where everything is for Merlin's sake!" Milly, now going slightly cross-eyed and looking almost completely dazed, managed a lopsided bow and disappeared with a crack.

Lilith gently tugged Draco's left sleeve back down and rested his arm on the ice packet. She had feared that he would be burning up from the inside but her prediction wasn't true. Moments later, Lilith saw the pain leave his eyes bit by bit though shock still remained.

Lilith took the bottles of calming medicine and shock medicine as well as some chocolate powder. She poured a bit of both potions into a small cup and added the chocolate powder. She stirred the mixture for a bit and handed the cup to Draco when it was well mixed and resembled a cold cup of hot-chocolate.

"Did it... hurt a lot?" Lilith asked as Draco lifted the cup to his lips. "Your mother seemed really worried and looked very pale."

"She always is," Draco muttered, taking another sip from the cup and choosing to ignore the first question. "Mother is always too overprotective. I wanted a chance to prove myself and I got one. Father would've been very proud of me. Mother did everything she could to make the Dark Lord change his mind about giving me the mission. She said that I was too young." _Us typical pure-bloods_, Lilith said sarcastically in her head. _Always wanting to please our parents but we can just never please them enough_.

She briefly thought of her O.W.L. grades. Lilith had gotten 'Exceeds Expectations' for Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lilith had also gotten an 'O' for Transfiguration and Potions as well as 'Acceptables' for Astronomy, History of Magic, and Herbology. However, she had failed Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. She never liked either of those classes anyway, nor did she like the teachers.

Mrs. Lestrange wasn't completely satisfied with Lilith's grades but she had only commented that they were good enough. Lilith promised to do better in her N. E. W. T.s but she felt hurt and angry that Mrs. Lestrange didn't say thing else but 'good'.

"But you _are_ too young," Lilith said, taking the cup from Draco after he had downed every last drop of the mixed potion. "Draco, you are only sixteen years old. Sixteen and already a Death Eater. How many sixteen-year-old Death Eaters have you met?"

"You don't have to remind me, Lilith," Draco glanced at Lilith with cold grey eyes. "But this is what I wanted. I can finally prove myself. I can show others that I'm better at Potter." Lilith sighed. He was as ambitious as always.

"Is this really what you want, Draco?" Lilith asked softly, lifting her eyes to his. She felt worried for her classmate, though it was unnecessary. Draco Malfoy could take care of himself. But a Death Eater in Hogwarts... "Do you really believe that you can do this mission? Do you think that you can live as a Death Eater, bound to the Dark Lord for the rest of your life with no freedom?"

"Yes, of course I can," Draco scoffed, though there was a fleeting flash of hesitation in his words. "I _can _do this. I know I can. This _is _the one thing that I want. This is my only chance to prove myself." Lilith didn't believe him. Not one single bit.

* * *

A/N: This is a complete rewrite of 'Always There', 'We Found Love', and 'Take a Look at Me Now' with a new main character, new plot, and new point of view (third-person limited). I hope this won't cause any inconveniences to the readers of the three stories. I will not be continuing 'Take a Look at Me Now' in the time being but may choose to continue it in the future. Again, I'm very sorry for this.

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your opinion to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	2. Chapter 1: Start of Darkness

**Chapter One: Start of Darkness**

Lilith Lestrange walked towards the Hogwarts Express rather glumly, dragging her trunk and Kneazle cage behind her. The gray Kneazle did not enjoy being trapped in a cage, even if he had a larger amount of space than other pets. It had taken Lilith a fair bit of time to get Smoke into his cage without getting clawed to shreds.

Smoke wasn't the only one who wasn't very pleased at the way things are. Lilith wasn't the happiest witch alive either. Only days before, Lilith's mother, Mrs. Lestrange, had caught Lilith sitting beside the pond, watching the roses on a flower patch. After being scolded by her mother, Lilith had been grounded from going outside and wasting her time in the garden.

_"Lilith, why do you have to act so much like a pathetic Muggle?" Mrs. Lestrange hissed at Lilith angrily, her hands on her hips. Lilith bowed her head, not daring to look into her mother's fiery gaze. "Are you ashamed of being a witch? Do you want to be one of those Mudbloods with no experience in magic whatsoever?"_

_"I'm sorry, Mother," Lilith whispered apologetically but inside, she was bursting with anger and determination. She couldn't wait until her seventeenth birthday. Then she'd be free from her mother. She'd be able to go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. "I won't do this again."_

_"You are grounded, Lilith," Mrs. Lestrange said, her sharp amber eyes narrowing in disgust. "And look up at me when you're speaking! Lilith Cassandra Lestrange, you are a pureblooded witch from a rich and respected _wizarding_ family. You are not a poor, mannerless Muggle! Why do you have your hair down_ again_? Why do you sit in the garden instead of admiring it when_ standing _with the grace of a lady?_ Why?_"_

_"I'm _sorry_, Mother," Lilith raised her eyes to meet her mother's harsh gaze, her voice icy. Lilith's amber eyes were filled with a cold, yet blazing fire. "I know who I am." _And who I want to be_, she added in her head. "I'm deeply sorry for my Muggle-like behavior."_

_"And you should be!" Mrs. Lestrange said sharply. "Don't let me ever catch you wasting time in this useless place again or I'll get someone to remove it all. Yes, everything. Your precious little pond and roses. Do you want me to do it?" Lilith shook her head but still maintained eye contact with her mother. "Then get inside _now_. Read your textbooks. Practice Quidditch. I want you to get better grades and get on that Quidditch team."_

Lilith had stomped back to the manor, earning her another scolding.

Now, Mrs. Lestrange was accompanying Lilith to the Hogwarts Express. Lilith didn't want her mother to be there because she was perfectly capable of getting onto the train herself. But Mrs. Lestrange had insisted on sending her off.

"Stand up straight, Lilith!" Mrs. Lestrange gave Lilith a sharp knock on the back with her fist. Lilith felt the giant diamond from one of Mrs. Lestrange's rings jab her sharply in the back. She glared at her mother but straightened her spine. "Wipe that look off your face _now_. How are you to attract a husband if you look angry all the time?" Lilith bit back a sharp retort and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. One thing's for sure, Lilith would marry whoever she wanted and she would do everything to keep it like that.

"Yes, Mother," Lilith grumbled, lifting her heavy trunk and cage into the train with lots of difficulty and absolutely no help from her mother. She walked right off onto the train without a single goodbye. Lilith didn't care what her mother thought about her bold move, even though she knew she'd get scolded when she came back from Christmas break. And, anyways, Mrs. Lestrange wouldn't go onto the train to seek her daughter out and scold her. Mrs. Cassandra Lestrange valued her dignity too much.

Lilith glanced at her watch. She still had some time to catch up with her friends before she went to her meeting with the other prefects. She walked in the direction of the Slytherins' usual compartment.

The first thing Lilith noticed was that Draco laid across three seats, his head resting in Pansy's lap. The pug-faced girl seemed to be smirking as she stroked the blond hair off of Draco's pale forehead. Lilith felt a small twinge of annoyance but shrugged it off as she pulled open the compartment door and greeted her friends, Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass.

She almost jumped in fright when Draco leapt up at once when he saw her, much to Pansy's dismay.

"Lilith," Draco said at once, his grey eyes flashing with a bit hesitation and firmness. "Can I talk to you? In private? It's about what happened a few weeks ago." Lilith blinked a few times in confusion before nodding. _Was he already backing out from his mission? How very un-Malfoy-like_, Lilith thought.

"All right," She said. A loud wail came from below her. Smoke had seen the somewhat empy compartment. He was wondering why Lilith hadn't let him out yet, especially as he hated to be trapped in small places. Lilith turned to Daphne and Tracey. "Would you two mind...?" Both girls nodded and Lilith handed her Kneazle and trunk to them. "Be sure to let Smoke out as soon as possible and make sure to give him plenty of space."

"We know, Lilith," Tracey smiled, amusement coming into her bright blue eyes. "We've had enough of your bloody Kneazle's scratches in the dormitory." Daphne nodded and the two witches began to heave Lilith's trunk onto the rack while Pansy began to unclasp Smoke's cage.

Lilith followed Draco out of the compartment and into the train corridor. She quickened her pace to match his brisk steps. Only when they were in an empty compartment far away from the other students did Draco begin to speak.

"You know that I've been given a mission from the Dark Lord, right?" Draco asked in a low voice, quickly glancing at the door to make sure no one was listening outside.

"Of course I do," Lilith nodded, crossing her arms and looking into Draco's hesitant grey eyes doubtfully. _Why would he ask such a ridiculous question?_ "What about it?"

"Would you mind helping me a little?" Draco asked. He was uncomfortable and Lilith knew it. Her cold eyes narrowed. Usually, Draco Malfoy would never be one to ask for help, but Lilith was addressing a larger issue right now.

"And risk having my life taken at the hands of the Dark Lord?" Lilith snorted derisively. "What do you think my answer would be?"

"I really need some help, Lilith," Draco said, wincing slightly at the begging tone in his voice. "I wouldn't be able to complete this mission without some extra help." Lilith smirked a little. She never knew that Draco would need help for something like this, especially after the Dark Lord had clarified that the mission was for Draco and Draco only.

"Perhaps you should've thought of that before you agreed to taking the mission," Lilith said scathingly and turned to stalk out of the compartment.

Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the compartment before she could walk away, causing two first year wizards passing by to giggle and think that they've found a couple together in an empty compartment.

"Scat!" Lilith spat at the two young wizards, drawing out her wand threateningly. Both wizards scurried away faster than Smoke when he chased rodents. She turned back to Draco and yanked her hand out of his grasp. "What do you want?"

"At least think about it!" Draco said, a pleading tone in his voice. Lilith raised her eyebrows. She knew that it must've taken a lot for him to put his pride aside and literally _beg _for help. "We've been friends since we were children!"

"I never knew that the great Draco Malfoy would ask others for help in a situation like this," Lilith smirked. Draco glared at her but said nothing else. "Fine, I'll think about it." If the Dark Lord were to know, she'd lose her life for sure. But her life wasn't very great at the present time either with her mother trying to control every single aspect of it. But yet, what's life without a bit of risk?

"Great, thanks," Draco let out a rare smile, relief shining in his grey eyes.

"What will I have to do?" Lilith asked. "Will you tell me your mission?" Draco hesitated once more.

"Not now," He shook his head. "It's too early to tell you."

"Fine," Lilith shrugged. "See you at the prefect meeting."

"I'm not going."

"Why not?" Lilith asked, a smirk forming in her lips once more. "Has the great Draco Malfoy finally realized that he abused his reputation as prefect and want to be nicer to the ickle first years?" Draco scowled at me.

"No, I'll be busy," Draco muttered. "Throw in a few taunts to Cooper for me if you can." Adam Cooper was the Head Boy and a Ravenclaw though he was pretty daft in everything but schoolwork. Lilith recalled watching the Ravenclaw team tryouts last year. Cooper could barely fly and had crashed into one of the hoops.

"Will do," Lilith smirked and nodded goodbye to Draco before continuing on the way to the prefects' carriage.

"Lestrange!" A voice called sharply from one side of the room. "Where were you? The meeting began five minutes ago." Lilith rolled her eyes. The oh-so-wonderful Gryffindor Head Girl, Judy Pilsworth, stood right in front of her. Lilith briefly saw the resemblance between Pilsworth and her mother.

"Well, I'm here now," She said, looking Pilsworth full in the eye. "Now, what's new?" Pilsworth crossed her arms at Lilith's casualness. Pilsworth glared at Lilith but continued with her questioning.

"Where's Malfoy? Why is he not here?"

"I don't know," Lilith said with equal verve. "Perhaps you should get Cooper to find out, seeing as he's so pathetically _smart_." Lilith smirked as Pilsworth narrowed her eyes. Both knew that it was a miracle Cooper still remembered who the prefects were.

"Two hours of patrolling the corridors, no excuses!"

"Wonderful, let us rejoice," Lilith said sarcastically. "What's the password for the Slytherin common room?" Lilith didn't care how many points Pilsworth took off. She'd just take off more from Gryffindor for untucked shirts, broken quills, and bent books. "Head Girl Mudbloods Not Allowed, perhaps?" Lilith smirked when she saw Pilsworth glare at her even harder.

"Another two hours of patrolling!" Pilsworth hissed, leaning so close to Lilith that she could count the freckles on her face. "I'll double it if you call me that name again! And, for your information, the password is 'Purity Above All'!" Pilsworth stalked off and Lilith rolled her eyes. _Dramatic little Mudblood_, Lilith thought before walking out of the carriage to go back into the Slytherins' compartment. Quite frankly, Lilith didn't care about patroling the corridors and she particularly didn't want to follow a Muggle-born witch's orders.

"Thank Merlin you're back!" Pansy said at once, throwing something big and furry at Lilith. "He was going crazy!" Lilith caught her Kneazle with some difficulty and set the cat-like creature on the ground quickly to avoid being clawed.

"Sorry about that," Lilith told Pansy apologetically as she took a seat beside Tracey. Smoke purred as he brushed against the legs of all the Slytherins in the compartment, though it chose to stay away from Crabbe and Goyle, who were reading comics and shoving various candies in their mouths. Lilith could see bits of Pumpkin Pasties fly out of their mouths and dark brown dribble slipping down their chins from the Chocolate Frogs. She turned away in disgust and began to converse with Tracey and Daphne.

"Have either of you seen Blaise?" Lilith asked, noticing that Blaise was not in the compartment with the rest of the Slytherins. He didn't always join the other Slytherins in their compartment, just occasionally. "Or is he just wandering the corridor trying to find the Weasley girl?"

Lilith knew that her cousin, Theodore Nott, didn't enjoy being with others that much so he was probably in a compartment of his own with some _pureblooded _Ravenclaw friends. The last Slytherin girl, Millicent Bulstrode, was most likely teasing first and second years and stealing their candy.

Lilith prefered being alone sometimes too, though there's no harm in making a few friends like Tracey and Daphne. However, she wasn't always seen with them as she had enjoyed being independent.

"Some welcome meeting with a new teacher," Draco explained, swiping one of Crabbe's Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and popping it into his mouth. "Slughorn or something like that."

"_Another _Defense teacher?" Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Sixth one in six years." Smoke the Kneazle sprung up onto her lap.

"And it probably won't be the last," Pansy shrugged before opening up _Witch Weekly_. She looked a little huffy because Draco didn't seem to want to lie in her lap anymore. Lilith rolled her eyes a bit at that thought. Almost every single Slytherin in the whole school knew that Pansy trailed after Draco all the time. Draco seemed to enjoy Pansy's eagerness but he didn't seem all that interested in her.

Lilith watched out the window as she rubbed Smoke's fluffy neck. Lilith listened to Tracey and Daphne talk about the latest match between the Wimbourne Wasps and Puddlemere United.

Soon enough, Zabini appeared at the entrance to the compartment. Lilith turned from the window, eager to hear news about this new teacher. He slid open the compartment door and turned around to close it.

"What's wrong with this thing?" Zabini said angrily as he smashed the compartment door repeatedly onto something. Lilith leaned over to look, but it seemed as though the door were stuck.

Suddenly, the door flung open, causing Zabini to topple over and fall onto Goyle.

"_MROW!_" A wail came from Smoke, his claws digging into Lilith's hands. He shot out of her lap, whimpering and waving his trampled tail mournfully._  
_

"_Smoke!_" Lilith gasped, wincing at the long bleeding claw marks on her hands and barely noticing Goyle and Zabini snarling at each other. She quickly drew out her wand. "_Episkey!_" The bleeding ceased and the wounds began to heal. "_Tergeo_." The blood disappeared at once. Lilith was tempted to give Smoke a hard kick, but then she saw that part of Smoke's tail was flat and crooked. The Kneazle leapt up into Lilith's lap, meowing apologetically.

Lilith looked as Blaise collapsed into his seat beside her, where Smoke's tail had been resting upon only seconds before.

"All right, Lilith?" Draco asked, his eyes on something on the luggage rack.

"Fine," Lilith looked around the compartment, wondering what could've possibly stepped or sat on her Kneazle's tail. She waved her wand and healed her Kneazle's crooked tail.

Once all the excitement had died, Draco turned to Zabini.

"So, Zabini," said Draco, "what did Slughorn want?" Lilith watched as the claw marks on her hands faded into faint scars.

"Just trying to make up to well-connected people," Zabini informed Draco, who was still glowering at Goyle. "Not that he managed to find many."

"Who else had he invited?" Draco demanded immediately. He seemed terribly displeased and impatient.

"McLaggen from Gryffindor," said Zabini.

"Oh yeah, his uncle's big in the Ministry," Draco recalled.

"— someone else called Belby, from Ravenclaw…"

"Not him, he's a prat!" interjected Pansy, looking up from her third magazine, _Spella Weekly_.

"— and Longbottom, Potter, and that Weasley girl," finished Zabini. Draco looked at him with much more interest than before.

"He invited Longbottom?"

"Well, I assume so, as Longbottom was there," Zabini shrugged indifferently. "What's Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?"

"Potter, precious Potter, obviously he wanted a look at 'the Chosen One,'" sneered Draco, "but that Weasley girl! What's so special about her?"

"A lot of boys like her," Lilith said before Pansy could open her mouth. "Even you think she's good-looking, don't you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please!" Pansy sniggered in agreement instead.

"I wouldn't touch a filthy little blood traitor like her whatever she looked like," Zabini said coldly. Out of the corner of her eye, Lilith saw Daphne and Tracey smirk.

"Well, I pity Slughorn's taste. Maybe he's going a bit senile. Shame, my father always said he was a good wizard in his day. My father used to be a bit of a favorite of his. Slughorn probably hasn't heard I'm on the train, or —"

"I wouldn't bank on an invitation," Zabini shook his head. "He asked me about Nott's father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he'd been caught at the Ministry he didn't look happy, and Nott didn't get an invitation, did he? I don't think Slughorn's interested in Death Eaters." Draco looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.

"Well, who cares what he's interested in? What is he, when you come down to it? Just some stupid teacher." Draco yawned ostentatiously. "I mean, I might not even be at Hogwarts next year, what's it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?" Lilith's eyes shot right into Draco's, giving him a silent warning.

"What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?" asked Tracey.

"Well, you never know," Draco said with the ghost of a smirk. "I might have — er — moved on to bigger and better things." Lilith wanted to slap her hand over Draco's mouth and shush him. The Dark Lord already said that his mission was _secret_.

"Do you mean — Him?" Lilith asked, emphasizing on the Dark Lord's name, trying to shut him up. Draco shrugged, obviously not wanting to take the hint.

"Mother wants me to complete my education, but personally, I don't see it as that important these days. I mean, think about it… When the Dark Lord takes over, is he going to care how many O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s anyone's got? Of course he isn't. It'll be all about the kind of  
service he received, the level of devotion he was shown." Lilith almost snorted. _Level of devotion_, she thought. _More like level of frightful loyalty._

"And you think you'll be able to do something for him?" asked Zabini scathingly. "Sixteen years old and not even fully qualified yet?" Lilith almost nodded in agreement.

"I've just said, haven't I? Maybe he doesn't care if I'm qualified. Maybe the job he wants me to do isn't something that you need to be qualified for," said Draco quietly. Crabbe and Goyle were both sitting with their mouths open like gargoyles. Lilith closed her eyes briefly, letting out a small sigh of relief. At least Draco hadn't leaked out the mission.

"I can see Hogwarts," Draco pointed out of the blackened window. "We'd better get our robes on."

Lilith dragged her trunk and Kneazle cage down. Lilith got her robes on and fastened a traveling cloak round her neck. When she finally coaxed Smoke into his cage, the train had slowed to a slow, jerky crawl. She locked her trunk and waited as, at last, with a final lurch, the train came into a complete halt.

Goyle threw the door open and muscled his way out into a crowd of second years, punching them aside; Crabbe and Zabini followed.

"You guys go on," Malfoy told Pansy, who was waiting for him with her hand held out as though hoping he would hold it. "I just want to check something." Lilith rolled her eyes at that as she walked out of the compartment, followed by Daphne and Tracey.

"_Move it, you!_" Lilith hissed in the face of a first year that blocked the corridor. The little first year scurried away in fright, tripping over her own trunk and owl, causing the tawny owl to screech. Smoke hissed at the owl as Lilith walked out of the Hogwarts Express and over to the carriages.

* * *

A/N: This is a complete rewrite of 'Always There', 'We Found Love', and 'Take a Look at Me Now' with a new main character, new plot, and new point of view (third-person limited). I hope this won't cause any inconveniences to the readers of the three aforementioned stories. I will not be continuing 'Take a Look at Me Now' in the time being but may choose to continue it in the future. Again, I'm very sorry for this.

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

My apologies for the late update. School has begun for me and I didn't have much time to write.

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**sara253xxx: **Thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story too. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori: **Lilith is a complete improvement of Angelina :) I thought that Lina seemed a little too much of a Mary-Sue, so I decided on rewriting everything. I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as you enjoyed the original :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**lotusflowerlove6: **I'm glad you like it :) I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

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**AKToad:** Responded to your review by PM also :D

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	3. Chapter 2: A Tense Agreement

**Chapter Two: A Tense Agreement**

Lilith got onto a carriage and sat at the end of it beside Tracey. She laid her trunk at her feet and kept her Kneazle cage on her lap. It took a while for Draco to join them, though he was smirking when he sat down beside Crabbe and Goyle.

"What did you do now, Draco?" Pansy asked. "Stole some second year's Ptolemy Chocolate Frog Card and fed it to an owl?"

"Nope, something better," Draco shook his head, a cunning grin spreading out on his pale face. "I broke Potter's nose and he's on his way back to London right now."

"Back to London?" Lilith raised her eyebrows. _Merlin knows what he was up to._ "Isn't he supposed to be on a carriage with Granger and Weasley?"

"He's still on the train," Draco explained, smirking so much that his grey eyes had nearly narrowed into slits. "He'll be in London by morning!" Crabbe and Goyle sniggered along with the others.

"Really?" Pansy began to smirk along with everyone else, her pug-like face scrunched up. "Saint Potter left on the train! What will the teachers say, hm? I bet that he would want to make another ridiculous grand entrance!"

Lilith turned towards the castle, watching as it loomed into view, a sinking feeling in her heart. She ignored the sounds of her fellow Slytherins snickering. Lilith did not care for Potter or any of his silly little friends, but she knew that Draco would never seek Potter out without Crabbe and Goyle 'protecting' him.

"You didn't seek him out just to break his nose, did you?" Lilith asked._ Potter would've close to our compartment_, Lilith thought. _I do hope that he wasn't close enough that he could hear us. __But how could Draco do it without someone knowing? The train is always bustling with witches and wizards and annoying puny first years._

"Of course not, but he was still there on the train when everyone left. Besides, he got Father chucked back in Azkaban," Draco shrugged as though it were the most obvious answer. Lilith rolled her eyes. "I had to do _something_ to avenge Father's imprisonment." _Oh, of course he did. _

Lilith didn't speak much for the rest of the trip but only listened as her fellow Slytherins socialized and talked. She watched as the carriage stopped in front of another carriage. Flitwick stood by the gates, scrolls of parchment beside the gate and a sheet in his hands. Lilith leaned closer and saw that Flitwick was ticking off names and observing everyone in the carriage closely. If everyone was on the carriage, he nodded and the carriage went through the gates.

"Who's on this carriage?" Flitwick asked when the Slytherin carriage neared the gates, parchment and quill ready.

"Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Lestrange, Malfoy, Davis, and Greengrass." Fitwick checked his list and glanced at everyone on the carriage twice to make sure that they were all present before ticking heir names.

"Very well, you may go through," Flitwick nodded. The carriage pulled itself to a line of students with Filch in front of them all along with some other wizards. He was waving a Secrecy Sensor over all of the trunks and pet cages while the other wizards were opening them and looking around. The sixth year Slytherins' carriage was the last carriage to enter Hogwarts school grounds.

Lilith heard the gates close loudly as she got in line in between Draco and Pansy Parkinson. She waited impatiently as the line inched forward bit by bit. Her Kneazle had no more patience than his owner did. Smoke lashed his large tail around the cage and banged against the door, causing Lilith to sharply knock the cage to stop him from continuing.

"What the hell is this?" Lilith heard Draco mutter. She looked at the others in front of her. A third year was getting his trunk checked by Filch's Secrecy Sensor and another student, a seventh year, was being asked to open her trunk and take out everything that wasn't school-related.

"You don't have anything to do with... you-know-what hidden in your trunk, right?" Lilith whispered as quietly as she could, dragging her trunk a few steps further to Filch and other wizards. She glanced nervously as Filch waved and poked his Sensor around the trunk.

"Of course not!" Draco scoffed. Lilith saw him roll his grey eyes in exasperation. "Even I wouldn't be that daft."

"Lestrange! Malfoy! Over here, now!" Lilith saw Filch call them out of line. Lilith walked towards the old caretaker with Draco. There was a fleeting moment when Lilith thought that he had overheard their conversation just then.

Lilith watched as Filch wrenched opened her trunk and waved the Secrecy Sensor over everything in her trunk, still wheezing and huffing. She bit back a laugh as Filch waved it over her Kneazle. Smoke, unsettled by the Sensor, bared his teeth and hissed at Filch. Smoke's fur fluffed up, making him appear twice as big as he was. He made sure to bat away the Secrecy Sensor in disgust as it approached the door to his cage.

"All clear, Lestrange," Filch said rather unhappily, shoving the cage towards Lilith and making Smoke snarl and bang against the cage.

"Be careful with my cat, you old Squib!" Lilith hissed at Filch furiously, glaring daggers at the caretaker in disgust. Draco let out a snigger beside her. There was no need for anyone to know that her 'cat' was in fact a Kneazle. She'd been smuggling him in ever since first year and no one had ever noticed unless she told them specifically. However, Lilith's 'cat' had frightened a few first and second years who had thought she'd brought a small tiger into Hogwarts.

"Typical 'purebloods'," Filch muttered, shooting a glare at Lilith. "Call me that again and I'll have ye' in for detention the old school way!" He waved his Secrecy Sensor over Draco's trunk with a huff. He took out a long cane from inside it. "What's this cane here, then?"

"It's not a cane, you cretin, it's a walking stick!" Draco ripped the walking stick out of Filch's grubby hands, muttering angrily and dusting it off. Lilith looked at the stick with a bit of interest. _Strange that he's got his Father's wand with him. Just exactly _what_ is his mission, anyway? Break all the Death Eaters out of Azkaban in two days?_ Lilith thought as she dumped her trunk onto a pile of other trunks, making sure to almost flatten the one beneath it.

"The hell would you want with a walking stick?" Filch asked, waving his Secrecy Sensor like a maniac at Draco. "It's dangerous! Could make a fancy weapon!"

Snape's appearance was so sudden that Lilith almost dropped Smoke's cage in surprise. She quickly placed the cage down with the other cats in fear of Smoke reaching his paws out of the cage and clawing her. Snape seemed to blend in with the shadows, especially because of his dark robes.

"It will be all right, Mr. Filch," Snape told the caretaker smoothly. "I can vouch for Mr. Malfoy." Draco smirked, dumped the walking stick back into his trunk and locked it. "Miss Lestrange, Mr. Malfoy, you may now go and join the feast with the rest of the Slytherins." Lilith smiled and walked towards the Great Hall; she could still hear Filch muttering angrily behind her as he checked another student's trunk.

Lilith and Draco were one of the last students to enter the Great Hall. By the time they reached the entrance the Slytherin table, most of the students were seated and awaiting McGonagall leading the first years to be Sorted.

Lilith sighed and stared at the golden plates longingly, feeling her stomach rumble a little in hunger. She rarely ever bought any food from the trolley because Crabbe or Goyle would most likely mistaken it for their own and gobble it down without a second thought. Lilith let out another small sigh, cursing her mother silently. If only her mother had let her eat a bigger breakfast.

"I wish they'd hurry up on the Sorting," Lilith drawled, watching as the first years walked past her, McGonagall leading them with the Sorting Hat and the stool. She smirked as a first year widened her eyes in fright when she saw Lilith. It was the first year that she had hissed at to move the Hogwarts Express. The puny first year toppled over and fell on her friend, earning her sniggers from almost everyone at the Slytherin table.

The first year quickly got up and shuffled past Lilith and the others, her face as red as a tomato. Most of the Slytherins were still sniggering, even when McGonagall shot them a look.

Throughout the entire Sorting, Lilith read _Witch Weekly_ under the table. A few Ravenclaws stared at her disapprovingly. Lilith had stared right back at them, silently challenging any of them to tell teachers. Lilith was satisfied when all the Ravenclaws dropped their gazes and focused on the Sorting. Lilith had not even bothered listening to the Sorting Hat's new song. Whenever a first year was Sorted into Slytherin, she'd give out a half-hearted cheer. Lilith rolled her eyes when the first year that had fallen, Daisy Brown, was Sorted into Hufflepuff.

As soon as the feast started, Lilith shoved her magazine into a pocket and dug in at once. Draco had been miming the shattering of a nose to everyone at the table. Lilith rolled her eyes but smiled a little. _At least Draco is still the same person as he was when we were young_, Lilith thought, relaxing a little. _Who cares about a mission anyway? It's probably to slip some poison into Slughorn's drink and kill him or something. _

Lilith ate a hearty dinner; she especially enjoyed the chocolate and raspberry pudding and had seconds. That action would've earned her a sharp look from her mother and no breakfast the next day. Mrs. Lestrange had told Lilith off harshly when she ate an extra slice of cake at her birthday, claiming that Lilith would grow fat and no man would want to marry her.

Lilith had scoffed derisively at that and rolled her eyes. Now, she wiped her mouth on a napkin and watched Tracey and Daphne's heated debate on whether the Appleby Arrows were better or Pride of Portree. The two never seemed to stop fighting over that, and they have already been debating furiously since second year.

"The Prides won the League Cup at least twice!" Daphne insisted, pointing to the purple badge on her robes. "They were _champions_ in the British and Irish Quidditch League! Were the Arrows ever champions in the _League?_"

"So?" Tracey argued back fiercely. "The Arrows defeated the Vratsa Vultures in 1932! The match lasted _sixteen _days and they were playing in dense fog and rain! Try and beat _that!_"

"McBride's better at Seeking!"

"No, Cotton is!'"

"McBride!"

"Cotton!"

"McBride!"

"Cotton!"

Lilith watched her friends with an amused expression on her face. A few moments later, Lilith saw Dumbledore get to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" Dumbledore said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room. Lilith's eyes widened a little when she noticed that Dumbledore's right hand was as blackened and dead-looking. It was absolutely dreadful. Whispers filled the room; Dumbledore, interpreting them correctly, merely smiled and shook his purple-and-gold sleeve over his injury.

"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you…" Lilith still kept her eyes on Dumbledore's right sleeve. _What might he be doing to have it so mangled and horrifying?_ Lilith wondered.

"… and Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise. We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn —"

Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, his big waistcoated belly casting the table into shadow. Lilith smirked. She could think of at least five names to call him and all of them were quite rude.

"— is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions Master."

"Potions?"

"_Potions?_" Lilith's eyes widened. _Surely Dumbledore wouldn't kick Snape out!_ Lilith thought. _Snape's a wonderful teacher!_

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered if they had heard right.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising voice so that it carried over all the muttering and gasping, "will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Snape, who was sitting on Dumbledore's right, did not stand up his mention of his name; he merely raised a hand in lazy acknowledgment of the applause from the Slytherin table.

Dumbledore cleared his throat as the whole Hall had erupted in a buzz of conversation at the news that Snape had finally chieved his heart's desire. Seemingly oblivious to the sensational nature of the news he had just imparted, Dumbledore said nothing more about staff appointments, but waited a few seconds to ensure that the silence was absolute before continuing.

"Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength." Lilith narrowed her eyes slightly when a few heads turned towards the Slytherin table. Despite having been in Slytherin for five years, rarely anyone would trust her.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that you teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them — in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety." Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more. "But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

With the usual deafening scraping noise, the benches moved back and the hundreds of students began to file out of the Great Hall toward their dormitories.

"Lilith, can I talk to you for a moment?" Draco asked as the sixth year Slytherins walked toward the common room.

"Sure, what is it?" Lilith asked. A few moments later, they were the only ones standing outside the Slytherin common room.

"Have you considered it yet?" Draco asked, leaning against the wall. "My mission?"

"I have," Lilith nodded, choosing her words carefully. "And I will help you only if you tell me what your mission is."

"I already told you, I can't do that!" Draco shook his head and rolled his eyes. "All you have to do is help me with a few things. No one would ever need to know."

"First, tell me why you sought out Potter without Crabbe or Goyle," Lilith demanded, crossing her arms. "Honestly, whenever you go and insult them, you are always in danger of being charmed into something disgusting unless you have them with you."

"Fine," Draco spat. "Potter was in our compartment."

"_What?_" Lilith's eyes widened; she dropped her harsh gaze momentarily and switched to a look of puzzlement. "But... he can't be! What are you talking about?"

"He had his Invisibility Cloak with him," Draco told Lilith. "He was the one who stepped on your cat and shoved Blaise to one side when he tried to get into our compartment." Lilith's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I told you bits and pieces about my mission because I just shrugged it off and decided that I was most likely hallucinating.. Then, I heard Goyle's trunk bump against something, heard a squeal of pain, and knew that Potter was there.

"When you all left, I jinxed him, broke his nose, and left him there," Draco finished. "Someone must've checked the train before it left, though. I saw Potter just a few minutes ago with Weasley and the Mudblood."

"Good save, though," Lilith said, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Perhaps now he'll know to stay out of someone's business."

"I doubt it," Draco snorted. "The Great 'Chosen One'. He'll never stay out of anyone's business because he just wants all the _fame_. But anyway, will you help me or not? Without some bit of help, it's really impossible for me to finish my mission." Lilith thought about it for a moment.

_He's one of my friends and we've known each other since we were children. If the Dark Lord ever found out that I was helping him... all would be over for sure. I don't want to help him but Draco's just a boy. He's only sixteen. The Dark Lord just wants him to fail so he can get rid of all of the Malfoys. _

"I guess I'll help you," Lilith said slowly. "But you will have to tell me what your mission is sooner or later. What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing as of yet," Draco shook his head. "but have this." He took a golden Galleon out of his pocket and handed it to Lilith. She examined the Galleon closely as Draco went on. "It'll become warm if I need you to help me. Just take it out and there will be instructions engraved on it."

"The Protean Charm?" Lilith asked, impressed. She tucked the Galleon into her pocket. "How did you manage to learn to do that?"

"Just one of the tricks I learned from aunt Bellatrix," Draco shrugged but smirked. Lilith saw a proud glint in his grey eyes. "It'll be easier and safer for us to communicate this way."

"Great," Lilith nodded. She turned towards the common room wall. "Purity Above All!" Both walked into the common room where a few still stayed, reading by the fire or socializing. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Draco nodded. Both set off for their dormitories and both wondering why they had ever agreed to the mission.

* * *

A/N: This is a complete rewrite of 'Always There', 'We Found Love', and 'Take a Look at Me Now' with a new main character, new plot, and new point of view (third-person limited). I hope this won't cause any inconveniences to the readers of the three aforementioned stories. I will not be continuing 'Take a Look at Me Now' in the time being but may choose to continue it in the future. Again, I'm very sorry for this.

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Replies to Reviews:**

**SlytherinGirl26: **Thank you so much for your critique! :D I'll keep it in mind. I hope you'll also read this chapter and give me feedback on it too. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**lotusflowerlove6:** Great idea! :) I'll think about it. It will definitely make the story more interesting. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**sara253xxx:** I'm glad you liked the previous chapter and hope that you enjoyed this one as well! :D I'll try and update as often as I can. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori:** Heehee :P I liked imagining them as idiots that do nothing but attend classes (without actually _learning_) and pig out on sweets! I hope this chapter is as good as the last! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Maharani Radha:** Responded to your critique by private message :) I have to thank you again for critiquing it :D

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	4. Chapter 3: The 7th Floor Corridor

**Chapter Three: The Seventh Floor Corridor**

After a few days of almost nothing but lessons, Lilith flopped down on a couch, her books spilling out of her book bag and her quills tumbling out, the feathers squashed flat. She mournfully took out a few sheets of parchment and went to start her enormous amount of homework.

"Hey, Lestrange!" Lilith did not even look up as she began to scribble an essay restlessly.

"_What?_" Lilith snapped, accidentally overturning her ink bottle, thus spilling part of the floor with ink. "Ugh! _Scourgify!_" The ink vanished at once.

"You coming for Quidditch tryouts tomorrow?" Urquhart's face appeared in front of Lilith.

"_Tomorrow? _I thought tryouts weren't till next week!" Lilith gaped at the Slytherin Quidditch captain before speaking to him accusingly. "Is there _any_ reason why you didn't tell me this before?"

"Check the billboard, genius," Urquhart rolled his eyes before snapping back into his professional and stern state. "Be there at nine, no later." And with that, he walked off before Lilith could tell him that she barely had time to _breathe_ because of homework.

"Brilliant," Lilith muttered, taking out a new ink bottle from her bag. "Just bloody brilliant."

By ten o'clock, most of the students had filed into their dormitories for sleep. Lilith yawned, dumped her messed-up essay into her book bag, and stumbled to the sixth year Slytherins' domitory. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

However, only hours later, she was woken up by loud tapping and hooting outside the window.

"Who's that?" Lilith groaned into her pillow, desperately wanting to get back to sleep. The tapping continued until Lilith got up groggily. She walked over her trunk to the window, rubbing her eyes and forcing them open.

Cadmus, the Lestrange family eagle owl, was perched on the window sill with a letter in his beak and a heavy package tied to his legs. His white feathers were ruffled and his orange eyes seemed relieved. Lilith opened the window sleepily and let the owl in. She placed the package on her bedside table and took out her wand.

"_Lumos_," She muttered tiredly as she began to read the letter.

_Lilith,_

_What makes you think that you can do that? Walk off and not even thank me for using Side-Along Apparition to take you to platform nine-and-three-quarters? I am your _mother _for Merlin's sake! I deserve better treatment than this. And you really need to stop grimacing and glaring at everyone. Have you forgotten all of your manners? How do you think you'll ever be married off now? No wizard would want to be married to someone with such a careless and hateful personality!_

_Stop acting like a Muggle, Mudblood, or a blood traitor. These people don't have any etiquette. They are the ones who will be married to wizards who own pubs and low-selling Muggle business owners whereas _purebloods_ will be married off to wonderful wizards that have high-paying jobs and are from wealthy and respected_ wizarding_ families. _

_If you want to be a pureblooded witch from a wealthy family, then ACT LIKE ONE. Be courteous. Be kind. Be polite. And, for heaven's sake, be _proud _that you came from a good family that actually used time to help you in your etiquette education__. However, if you are dealing with Mudbloods, you have permission to be unladylike because they are scum and do not belong in our world._

_I'm expecting good scores on your end of year exams this year. Your O.W.L. examination results were good. But they can be better! I received your class list a few days ago. You've told me about that Hermione Granger, haven't you? She's at the top of all classes except for Defense Against the Dark Arts! How can a _Mudblood _beat you in your studies? She doesn't have a single drop of magical blood in her veins and yet she got almost all 'Outstanding's! You should be ashamed of yourself, getting beaten by someone who has never set foot in the wizarding world until five years ago! _

_I've sent you books on your classes, especially Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, History of Magic and Potions. Read them and learn from them. I expect you to have full commitment to studying. These books are for seventh years but I want you to fully understand everything in the book. That way, you'll know muhc more than everyone else and can answer questions.__  
_

_I also expect you to get on the Quidditch team and not on a reserve team. Do you know how much I spent on your Nimbus 2001? It's enough to feed a poor family for two years! Your emerald robes were made of finest velvet. Your gloves were made of _dragonskin_. Need I say more? You are luckier than most of the wizarding families! _

_I spent a lot of money on you so you can play Quidditch well. The amount I spent could ensure that the Weasleys will never go hungry again! You can reward me by _getting on the team_ rather than a reserve team. If you don't get on the reserve team, you won't get to play at all. If you don't play, your skills will worsen. Do you want that to happen?_

_I expect a lot from you, Lilith. This year, I want you to get on the team and get better grades than that Granger girl. I also want you to behave yourself and act like a pureblood at _all _times. That is a way a real pureblood witch should act. Am I understood?_

_Good luck in your studying,_

_Your mother_

After she read the letter, Lilith was thankful that it was not a Howler. Lilith knew that her mother would never do something so 'low' and 'unladylike' as Mrs. Lestrange had often put it. Lilith rolled her eyes and chucked the letter into the dormitory's fire without a second glance; she knew that she would still get scolded when she came back for Christmas at Lestrange Manor. However, Lilith was glad that she made a bold move, walking off like that. _Perhaps that will keep Mother out of my life. Perhaps that will show her that I want a life of my own and am perfectly capable of taking care of myself_, Lilith thought darkly as she shoved the package into her trunk and laid back on her bed.

Annoyingly enough, Lilith could not get herself to sleep no matter how she tried. She silently cursed herself for waking up to Cadmus hooting outside her window._  
_

"Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow," Lilith reminded herself, twisting and turning to get to a comfortable position. "If you don't make it onto the team, Mother will curse the living daylights out of you and probably threaten to disown you. Again." She briefly recalled the first time that she'd been caught lounging in the Lestrange garden. Mrs. Lestrange had been absolutely furious because of that and because of the fact that she didn't finish reading her textbooks.

It was three o'clock before Lilith finally fell asleep. She felt like she'd been sleeping for only a few seconds when a sharp burst of sunlight forced her eyes open.

Lilith blinked a few times then rolled over and glanced at her clock. She rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"_Merlin's striped socks, it's e__ight-fifty!_" Lilith shrieked, wheeling around to face Tracey who was opening up all the curtains. "Why didn't you remind me to get up? Tryouts start in ten minutes!" She flung her emerald covers away and scurried to the bathroom to change into her Quidditch robes. She didn't even bother going down to the changing rooms. Lilith could've sworn that she heard Tracey giggling uncontrollably.

"Hey, at least I woke you up!" Tracey called out before descending into giggles once more.

Only minutes later, Lilith sprinted out of the bathroom, grabbed her Nimbus 2001, and dashed out of the dormitory and the common room. She didn't bother to bring an extra set of robes to change into later. Lilith's abrupt appearance had scared a few third years that were playing Wizard's Chess in the common room.

Lilith reached the Quidditch pitch just as Urquhart sauntered out of the changing rooms.

"Lestrange, what are you trying out for?" Urquhart asked. Lilith took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down.

"Chaser," Lilith panted. "And Beater if I don't become a Chaser." She quickly gathered her hair up in a ponytail and tucked her bangs behind her ears.

"All right," Urquhart nodded and walked into the center of the pitch where everyone was waiting. "Who else is trying out for the position of Chaser?" Four others stepped out of the large group. Lilith saw Vaisey, Zabini, a fourth year, and a third year. "Come on over here!"

"Now," Urquhart began sternly when all five Chasers had gathered around him. "Only two of you will become Chasers. The other three can either get out or try out for another position. Just because you've been on the team before," Urquhart eyed Vaisey who was lazily yawning and stretching. "you will _not _be guaranteed a spot this year. Understood?" Everyone nodded.

"Good," Urquhart said, abruptly turning to the third year, a small girl with lots of freckles and auburn hair. She reminded Lilith of the Weasleys. "Wilson, you're up first!" Annabel Wilson let out a small squeak of surprise but shuffled away from the huddled group and mounted her broom nervously. "Let's see how many goals you can score." Urquhart took out the Quaffle and threw it to Wilson.

She caught it but just barely. Lilith smirked and leaned against her broom as she saw Wilson fly towards the three hoops, her hands and body visibly shaking from nervousness and uncertainty. Wilson missed when she tried scoring for the first time.

Almost everyone broke down into laughter as Wilson, red-faced, chased after the Quaffle, grabbed it, and prepared another shot.

"The chances of her getting in are as high as the chances of the Chudley Cannons winning the League Cup this year!" Lilith snorted and laughed once more as Wilson missed.

"True, true," Vaisey nodded, rubbing tears out of his eyes. Only seconds later, he began laughing and sneering at Wilson as she, once again, failed at scoring.

By the end of her session, half of the Slytherins were on the ground, clutching their stomachs and laughing their heads off. Lilith was shaking her head and rolling her eyes at Wilson's lack of skill. She only managed to score twice out of the ten times. Even Urquhart couldn't stop sneering and mocking Wilson as she dismounted, put the Quaffle down, and ran for the changing rooms with her broom.

"L-Lewis!" Uruqhart managed to spit out from his laughing. "Y-y-you're up next!" Melissa Lewis, the fourth year, walked over to the Quaffle and picked it up. Lilith saw a competitive glint in Lewis's dark eyes and knew that Lewis wouldn't want the same end as Wilson.

Lilith watched as Lewis mounted her broom and streaked towards the three hoops.

Lewis was actually not bad. She scored six out of ten times. Lilith gripped her broomstick tightly. _I'll do anything to beat her_, Lilith thought in her head as Lewis walked over to the group, a proud smile on her fair-skinned face.

"Not bad Lewis," Urquhart said approvingly. "Lestrange!" Lilith's eyes shot up at once. "You're up." Lewis threw the Quaffle over to her and Lilith mounted her broom.

Lilith flew through the pitch and towards the three hoops. She was determined to do better than Lewis and get on the team. Once Lilith was close enough to the hoops, she threw the Quaffle as hard as she could, smirking when she saw it fly right through one of the hoops.

At the end of her session, she managed to score eight goals. With her head held high up arrogantly, Lilith landed and tossed the Quaffle to Zabini.

"Is that all you can do, Lestrange?" Zabini raised his eyebrows, twirling the Quaffle around in his hands.

"Good luck on beating that, Zabini," Lilith smirked, leaning on her broomstick and waiting for Urquhart to call Zabini out for tryouts.

"Good try, Lestrange," Urquhart nodded, somewhat but not entirely impressed. "Zabini, you're next." Lilith watched as Zabini zoomed towards the three hoops. She didn't even flinch when Lewis chucked her broomstick away angrily and stalked off to the changing rooms. Blaise Zabini had scored a seven. Now, there was no chance that Lewis ever make the team.

"Vaisey!" Urquhart snapped. Vaisey was lying on the ground, arms crossed behind his head. He was enjoying the sunshine but got up at once when Urquhart called his name. "If you don't take this seriously then I suggest you leave!"

"Calm down, Urquhart," Vaisey took the Quaffle and flew into the air easily. "I can still fly well when I'm _sleeping_."

Vaisey easily scored all ten goals and landed smugly beside Lilith, Zabini, and Urquhart who seemed even more annoyed.

"Fine. Lestrange and Vaisey, you two make the team," Urquhart muttered. Lilith smiled. _Perhaps now Mother will get off my back a little._ "Zabini, good try. You can try out again next year or try out for another post." Zabini just shrugged and walked off unhappily.

"Who's trying out for the Beaters?" Urquhart called to the rest of the Slytherins. About seven students came forward, including Crabbe and Goyle. Lilith gave an exhuasted sigh. Crabbe and Goyle weren't the brightest wizards ever and they were not wonderful at being Beaters. _But at least they are better than the bunch of idiots that had shown up last year._ Lilith thought_. _She leaned on her broomstick and watched the Beater tryouts._  
_

The Beater tryouts were quite uneventful except for the fourth tryout which included a second year racing away, shrieking, as the two Bludgers chased after him. In the end, Crabbe and Goyle got the positions once more. They were grinning foolishly as they left the pitch and onto the bleachers, most likely to pig out on sweets. Lilith went with Vaisey to help with the Keeper tryouts.

The first two students to tryout were actually quite good for only fourth years. Both blocked three out of five. Catastrophe struck when the third student came on to tryout. He was a big and burly seventh year. Lilith had thrown the Quaffle at him hard. The seventh year twisted around and whacked the Quaffle back in her direction using his broomstick, causing Lilith to squeak and fly away before the Quaffle smacked her in the face.

"Hey, Hughes!" Urquhart called, running over to catch the Quaffle. "Try not to kill our Chasers!" Lilith heard a snigger from Vaisey and rolled her eyes. "Next!" Hughes gaped at Urquhart but did as he was told though he was really disappointed.

The Keeper position was soon taken by Rebecca Clarke, a fifth year who had blocked all five shots. Finally, it was time for the Seeker tryouts. Lilith looked at the rest of the group, expecting to see blonde hair or grey eyes peeking out somewhere but Draco Malfoy was not present.

"Where's Draco?" Lilith asked Urquhart before he called out the Seeker tryouts.

"He told me that he's busy and can't make the team this year," Urquhart shrugged. Lilith gaped at Urquhart.

"But he's a decent Seeker!" Lilith objected, surprise gathering in her eyes. "At least compared to the morons that have shown up for the past few years!"

"It's his own decision, Lestrange," Urquhart cast Lilith a glare. "Respect that." And with that, he sauntered off to the few remaining Slytherins.

Lilith's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Would Draco's mission be so difficult that he has to give up Quidditch?_ Lilith thought. _Draco loves Quidditch. He wouldn't give it up for the world. Surely his mission isn't that difficult. Surely he would still have time for Quidditch! _Lilith made a mental note to ask Draco about it when she got the chance.

Lilith watched the Seeker tryouts absentmindedly. She didn't even look up when a second year's broom whizzed out of control and he fell to the ground. Lilith didn't let out a single gasp when a fourth year smashed into the three hoops and fell off her broom.

At the end, Harper got the Snitch. Lilith gaped. She knew Harper, who was in fifth year. _How can he catch the Snitch? _Lilith thought as Harper landed. _He's an absolute blockhead!_

"Team, gather around!" Urquhart called. Lilith stood beside Clarke and listened. "Practices will be held on Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons as well as Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We will be practicing for two-hour sessions. There will be reminders posted on the Slytherin common room billboards. Now, off to the changing rooms!"

Lilith just walked right through the changing room and to the common room as she didn't carry have an extra change of robes. As soon as she dunked her broomstick beside her trunk and changed, Lilith sprinted to the Great Hall for lunch.

Halfway through her meal, she realized that Draco wasn't sneering at Hufflepuff first years, nor was he at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.

"Hey, Daphne," Lilith turned to Daphne who had been giggling flirtatiously at a seventh year Ravenclaw. "Have you seen Draco?"

"Nope," Daphne shook his head. "But I heard that he's sick or something." Lilith nodded and pondered for a moment as she drank her pumpkin juice. Later, she visited the hospital wing but Draco was not there.

Lilith decided to spend her day in the library, poring over the books that Mrs. Lestrange had sent her though she wasn't fully concentrating on them. She was thinking about Draco's abrupt leave from Quidditch and him not appearing at all during lunch or even tea.

By the time Lilith went to dinner, she was deeply suspicious. She had checked the owlery, the common room, and most of the classrooms. Draco wasn't even with Crabbe or Goyle who still sat on the bleachers, reading comics and snacking on Sugar Quills, Pumpkin Pasties, and Cauldron Cakes.

"Are you still looking for Malfoy?" Daphne asked as Lilith sat down, her nose in a Charms book.

"Kind of," Lilith shrugged though she perked up at once. "Have you seen him recently?"

"I just saw him," Daphne informed her. "He finished his dinner and left only moments before you came. He seemed to be in a big rush." Lilith groaned inwardly and glared at her Charms book. If she had not been reading, she would've seen Draco.

"Really?" Lilith quickened her eating pace, scarfing down her mashed potatoes and gravy. "I'll be right back." As soon as she finished the mashed potatoes, Lilith hurried out of the Great Hall carrying her book.

Lilith spotted Draco walking up the stairs. She hurried after him, though she got a cramp a few moments later. She clutched her belly but continued following Draco all the way up the stairs. _Second floor, third floor, fourth floor..._ Lilith thought, gritting her teeth. _Where the hell is Draco going? If it's a secret meeting with Pansy, count me out_.

Lilith was a little confused when Draco began to walk down the seventh floor corridor. She winced a little and sighed, leaning against the wall for support. She just had to be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. _If only he had stayed for dinner a little longer! If only I didn't scarf down all those wretched mashed potatoes!_ Lilith groaned as she walked towards Draco.

Lilith blinked. Draco Malfoy wasn't there anymore. They had reached the end of the corridor and Draco had disappeared.

"Uh... Draco? You there?" Lilith called out nervously. _No. People can't just disappear into thin air_, Lilith reminded herself as she walked towards the wall. _Where is Draco? He can't possibly Apparate away or melt into the ground..._

Lilith looked around. Draco was nowhere to be seen. Lilith heard Peeves' cackle from nearby and groaned. _Wonderful, _Lilith thought, pushing the thought of Draco disappearing to the back of her mind. _Now I'll have to deal with an insane poltergeist._ Lilith hurried down the stairs and back to the Great Hall, her mind filled with questions that seemed impossible to ever answer.

* * *

A/N: This is a complete rewrite of 'Always There', 'We Found Love', and 'Take a Look at Me Now' with a new main character, new plot, and new point of view (third-person limited). I hope this won't cause any inconveniences to the readers of the three aforementioned stories. I will not be continuing 'Take a Look at Me Now' in the time being but may choose to continue it in the future. Again, I'm very sorry for this.

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

My apologies for the late update. School has begun for me and I didn't have much time to write.

**Replies to Reviews:**

**SlytherinGirl26:** Sorry for the late update! D: And thank you! A Pureblood Princess is exactly what I imagine Lilith as. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**sara253xxx:** Sorry for the late update! I'm happy that you did! :) Hope you enjoyed this one as well! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori:** I'm very glad that you enjoyed it :) I'm very sorry for the late update! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**ElektraB:** I will post whenever I can :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**ForeverTeamEdward13:** Thanks! I hope you'll enjoy this as much as you enjoyed my old stories! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Ms Snape - Malfoy:** Thank you! :) I do hope that you'll enjoy this! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	5. Chapter 4: Mrs Lestrange's Letter

**Chapter Four: Mrs. Lestrange's Letter**

Lilith sighed as she trudged towards the Quidditch pitch, dragging her Nimbus behind her tiredly. She'd only just ran from the library all the way to the dormitories and to the changing rooms. The weather did not reflect her mood. It was a sunny Thursday, weeks after school had begun again, and there were only a few clouds in the blue sky.

_At least I'm not late_, Lilith told herself as she began to fly around the Quidditch pitch for warm up. She glanced down at Urquhart yelling at Harper because he had showed up a few minutes late. By the time Lilith finished her ten laps around the pitch, Urquhart had stopped yelling at Harper though he made him do an extra five laps.

"Right!" Urquhart grabbed the Quaffle, mounted his broom and flew into the air. "Vaisey, Lestrange, come with me! Clarke, get ready!" In a blink of an eye, Lilith saw the Quaffle shoot from Urquhart's hands and almost right into Clarke.

"Ow..." Clarke moaned as she clutched her stomach. Lilith sighed and flew downwards to catch the falling Quaffle.

"Honestly, Urquhart, there's no need to throw that hard!" Lilith twirled the Quaffle in her hands. "You wouldn't want to kill our Keeper, especially after all the trouble we went through to find her."

Once Clarke had finally recovered, Lilith tossed the Quaffle to Vaisey, who almost missed it because he had been checking out the other seventh year Slytherins sitting at the bleachers.

"Concentrate, Vaisey!" Urquhart yelled. Lilith rolled her eyes but also followed Urquhart and Vaisey as they headed towards the goal posts.

The team wasn't doing extremely well. Harper couldn't catch the Snitch at all during practice so some suspected that he'd used _Accio_ when he was trying out for Seeker. However, Urquhart refused to kick him off the team because he didn't want to hold another tryout session. Lilith had groaned unhappily at Urquhart's careless reply. Slytherin was already losing to the other House teams. _At least with Draco on the team, we have a bigger chance of winning_, Lilith had thought bitterly when she saw Harper miss the Snitch yet again._  
_

Crabbe and Goyle rarely ever practiced; they only stuffed Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes into their mouths and pretended to be whacking the Bludgers whenever Urquhart flew by. Vaisey never really did anything else other than frighten second years and flirt with other Slytherins. Clarke seemed to lose her touch and kept on missing the Quaffle.

On top of all that, Urquhart had thought about adding extra practice sessions and wanted to have the team practice day and night, though the team had convinced him, for now, not to.

By the end of the session, Lilith's hands were almost as red as a Weasley's hair and she could barely walk after she dismounted her broom. Lilith stumbled to the changing rooms, dragging her broom listlessly behind her, her hands feeling extremely numb. She didn't dare ask Urquhart to train in a more... safer way rather than throwing the Quaffle as hard as a Beater would smack a Bludger, nor did she ask Urquhart to not be as demanding.

"He'd Transfigure me into a duck and set me on fire," Lilith muttered darkly as she changed. She fought hard to keep her eyes open as she trailed back to the common room.

She felt slightly upset as she didn't even have time to sneer at first year Hufflepuffs or jeer with the other Slytherins at the Gryffindors when they had their Quidditch tryouts, a personal first for her. Once she got back to her dormitory, she fell onto her bed and went to sleep at once, not even thinking about her unfinished homework.

The next morning, Lilith took a lot of time trying to drag herself out of bed.

"Wake up!" Tracey shook Lilith vigorously. Lilith could hear the urgency and impatience in her voice. "Breakfast ends in twenty minutes and we should've been there thirty minutes ago!" Lilith mumbled something incomprehensible before forcing herself out of her warm bed.

Ten minutes of breakfast remained by the time Lilith finally stumbled into the Great Hall, her heavy book bag weighing her down quite a bit. Lilith barely got to finish her short breakfast by the time ten minutes had passed. She didn't even have time to check her Galleon and rarely ever got a time to speak with Draco.

Lilith sat down next to Daphne Greengrass just as the lesson began.

"Didn't we learn this stuff in fourth year?" Lilith heard Daphne mutter as she began to flip through the pages of her book. Lilith just shrugged, blinking hard to try and keep her eyes open. However, within a few minutes into the class, Lilith had begun to nod off, her head resting on her hand.

Flitwick was especially displeased. He hopped down from his chair and walked over to where Lilith had begun to sleep quietly.

"_Aguamenti!_" Flitwick pointed his wand at her. Water shot out from it and hit Lilith right in the face. She woke up with a start and looked absolutely livid. "Detention on Saturday night, Miss Lestrange. Students should not sleep in class."

"Tell that to the bastard named Urquhart," Lilith hissed under her breath as Flitwick walked away and instructed everyone to pick up their wands and try out the spell. She wiped her face furiously with the sleeve of her robe and drew out her wand.

By the end of Charms class, most of the water on Lilith's hair and sleeve had evaporated though she had gotten two detentions now, one for falling asleep in class, and another for failing to practice the charm and failing to perform it correctly.

"Urquhart will kill me," Lilith sighed as she walked towards the Quidditch captain lounging in the Great Hall. "Hey, Urquhart?"

"What's up, Lestrange?" Urquhart was flipping through the pages of _Which Broomstick?_

"I have detention this Saturday and next Saturday night," Lilith told him.

"_What?_" Urquhart put down his magazine at once. "Who gave it to you?"

"Flitwick."

"Damn it!" Urquhart threw down his magazine. Lilith held her breath, preparing for the worst. "I _suppose_ you can miss two practices..." Lilith let out a small sigh of relief. "But you'll need to train hard during Saturday mornings. Now, leave me alone." Urquhart waved Lilith away rather rudely. As Lilith walked away, she could still hear Urquhart muttering and cursing under his breath.

Lilith made it to potions' class just in time. She quickly sat down at the Slytherin table between Tracey and Draco. She flipped her book open to the page on the Anti-Paralysis Potion.

"All right, you may begin," Slughorn called out. "Remember, I want it finished by the end of class!" As soon as the room began to fill with smoke, Lilith turned to Draco.

"Draco, is there anything I can help with the mission?" Lilith asked him as quietly as she could, trying to keep an accusing tone out of her voice. The hissing, crackling, and bubbling and the steam from the cauldrons made it hard for anyone to overhear their conversation or see them talking. "You haven't asked me to do anything yet and it's already been a long time since you gave me the Galleon."

"Don't need help right now," Draco hissed back at her before dumping a large amount of flobberworm mucus and Valerian sprigs into his cauldron rather absentmindedly and carelessly. "I'll tell you when I can. Just keep watch on your coin. The Galleon will tell you everything you need to know."

"Can't you at least tell me your mission?" Lilith asked impatiently. She had even been suspecting that the mission was a complete lie. "That could at least help me a little!"

"Not yet!" Draco said in a louder voice, looking around rather tensely and dropping some porcupine quills into his cauldron, making the mixture turn black and chunky rather than smooth and purple.

Their brief conversation ended when Slughorn passed by, his belly bulging and chuckling merrily as he checked how everyone was doing. Lilith silently cursed the pudgy professor as she dumped a handful of eels' eyes into her cauldron.

She rarely spoke with Draco after that.

On a Sunday after rushing to the library, Lilith finished her History of Magic essay in only fifteen minutes. She wrote it in huge letters and even copied most of it from her textbook. It was a gloomy and raining day and she wanted to make the most of it because Quidditch practice was canceled for the day.

Lillith scribbled some nonsense down on her Transfiguration worksheet and hoped that it seemed somewhat readable. She stuffed it into her bag along with her History of Magic essay, her quills, and ink bottle. She didn't bother to continue practicing the Aguamenti Charm. _I'll practice it later_, Lilith thought dismissively as she hurried to the Great Hall.

She piled her plate up with a bunch of food and then sat down to eat. She popped a few chips in her mouth and listened rather dully and uninterestedly as Daphne and Tracey began to continue their never-ending debate.

"Catriona McCormack played for Scotland thirty-six times!" Daphne smacked her hand on the table to prove her point, her brown eyes glinting competitively. "That's how good she is!"

"The Arrows beat the _Montrose Magpies_ and you know that the Magpies won the most games in the League!" Tracey shook her head fiercely.

"So far, that is!" Daphne glared at Tracey, her hand clenching into a fist. "The Prides will win the League Cup this year!"

"No, the Arrows will!"

"Prides!"

"Arrows!"

"_Prides!_"

"_Arrows!_"

Lilith groaned at her friends and looked up just as the post owls soared into the Great Hall, showering everyone with raindrops. She saw an owl head towards her and, when it finally came close up, realized that it carried a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Lilith took out five Knuts and dropped them into the owl's pouch. The tawny owl then dropped the newspaper on Lilith's lap and flew off, spraying Lilith with drops of rain._  
_

"What a wonderful day it is for me," Lilith muttered angrily as she rubbed off the rain water from her robes and face, wishing that she'd paid the owl less. She ripped open the wet newspaper and scanned it with a careful eye. Being a daughter of a well-known Death Eater and having a strong relationship with them, one would think that Lilith knew exactly what happened with the Death Eaters. Lilith, however, didn't. She never went to many very important Death Eater meetings, nor was she let in on any crucial plans. The only way for Lilith to know what was going on was by reading the _Daily Prophet_.

Lilith read about the Dementor attacks without much interest and skipped forward to the part about the arrest, hoping that it wasn't her aunt Bellatrix or anyone who was an important Death Eater. She almost snorted when she read that Stan Shunpike had been arrested but quickly turned it into a small cough as to not give anything away to Professor McGonagall who happened to be passing by the Slytherin table.

'_Stanley Shunpike, conductor on the popular Wizarding conveyance the Knight Bus, has been arrested on suspicion of Death Eater activity. Mr. Shunpike, 21, was taken into custody late last night after a raid on his Clapham home..._' Lilith smirked, her mood improving with each word she read.

Lilith had seen Shunpike a few times when she rode the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley with Mrs. Lestrange to buy supplies for school. To Lilith, Shunpike was a brainless idiot that did nothing but fool around and try to impress others. _It's incredibly unlikely that someone as dumb as Stan Shunpike would be initiated a Death Eater_, Lilith smirked and sighed rather dramatically.

Lilith didn't notice Cadmus flying towards her; he got a bit lost in the heavy rain and almost crashed into one of the goal posts on the Quidditch pitch. It was no wonder that she let out a shriek of surprise when Cadmus landed gingerly on her shoulder. She batted her owl away. In the process, she knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice.

Cadmus flapped his white wings and clapped his beak at her in annoyance.

"_Cadmus!_" Lilith hissed, flicking her wand to clean up the mess. "What are you doing here?" Cadmus dunked a rather soggy letter into Lilith's book bag and perched on her shoulder.

"Oi!" Lilith heard Filch wheeze and huff. She turned around to see Filch running towards her and Cadmus, waving his Secrecy Sensor in the air. Lilith hadn't seen him anywhere without it."What's your owl doin' 'ere? I reckon he hasn't been checked yet!"

"He only came here because of the rain!" Lilith told Filch sharply. "The entrance to the Owlery had been sealed off, remember, so that no letters could get in without being checked? My poor owl was in the rain for hours!" Several students, from mostly Slytherin but also other Houses, began to watch the scene with interest.

"Don' care, now do I?" Filch stopped in front of Lilith, wheezing and panting, his eyes glinting madly. "You gotta letter from 'im or not, Lestrange?" Lilith felt Cadmus's claws sink into her shoulder a little.

"Of course not!" Lilith scoffed, rolling her eyes before she gave Filch an order. "Now get my owl to the Owlery and give him something to eat and drink. He has been locked out for a long time now and needs to get back to my home."

At the mention of Lestrange Manor, Filch's expression became uneasy. He did not answer her question, but only glared at her furiously. Then he motioned to Mrs. Norris and walked away, still wheezing. Cadmus turned and flew off towards the Owlery, making sure to give Mrs. Norris a small scare as he passed by her and Filch.

Lilith's hand sneaked into her bag and touched the slightly soggy letter. She finished the last bits of her lunch and stood up.

"Off to do homework again?" Daphne asked. She and Tracey had momentarily called a pause in their debate.

"Yes, of course," Lilith shrugged before hurrying away towards the dungeons, quickening her pace when she reached the Slytherin common room. As soon as she reached the sixth year girls' dormitory, she hurried in and sat on her bed with the letter.

She tore it open, took out a blank sheet of greenish parchment. Lilith took out her wand nervously and tapped it once, remembering the ten words that were used to open any messages written on a green sheet of parchment. "_The Dark Lord will leave his mark on this world._" Letters formed onto the blank parchment and Lilith began to read._  
_

_Lilith,_

_You know that you've been revealed to some secrets concerning the other Death Eaters. You must've heard about the recent arrest of Stan Shunpike and should also know that he is definitely not one of us though the Dark Lord is considering using the Imperius Curse on him when Shunpike gets released from Azkaban._

_You have to be careful. If Dumbledore, McGonagall, or any of those so-called 'Order' members ask you _anything_ important or related to us, you have to deny everything and put on your blank face. The Dark Lord had told me to remind you about this, just in case. You need to tell Draco too, and as soon as possible. We wouldn't want anyway to know anything about this, now would we?_

_I heard from Rosalind Urquhart that you've made the Quidditch team. Good job, though it would've been better if you had told me using one of the school owls. Curse the school for being so protective. You really should've bought an owl other than your Kneazle._

_I trust that you are doing well at school, though I have been informed of your detentions in Charms class and a few others. Rosalind also told me that you pratice Quidditch quite a bit. I know I told you to get on the team, but not abandon your studies. You have to keep on learning and studying and reviewing if you want a good life ahead of you._

_Work hard,_

_Your mother_

By the time Lilith finished reading the letter, it had begun to smoke and burn at the edges. Lilith quickly tossed the letter into the fire, and just in time. The letter exploded into green flames and a smoky Dark Mark appeared. Lilith gulped and shrank back against the window. She watched as the fire eventually returned to its normal height and the Dark Mark fade away.

"Mother will _never_ leave me alone now," Lilith sighed miserably as she dumped her Transfiguration and History of Magic books in her trunk in exchange for her Ancient Runes, Charms, and Potions books. "Better go and study or else Mother will _never_ let me hear the end of it."

Lilith walked through the common room again, shoving away a fourth year that was blocking the entrance to the common room.

"Hey, Lestrange!" Lilith heard someone call her name as she neared the library. She looked around until she spotted Zabini waving at her. "You going to go and study again?"

"Of course!" Lilith rolled her eyes. "Have you seen how much homework we have to do?"

"I can see that," Zabini smirked, gesturing to Lilith's heavy book bag. "You wouldn't believe how much Herbology homework we have." Lilith walked with Zabini into the library.

"You are _still_ taking that class?" Lilith raised her eyebrows and curled her lip in disgust as she sat down next to him. "It's really confusing, and worst of all, Longbottom is actually _good_ at it."

"It's all right, actually," Zabini took out his Herbology books. "But Mother made me take it because it could prove to me very useful in my future studies."

"Future studies?" Lilith snorted, smoothing out a sheet of parchment. "We are not going to be asked by our future boss what Venomous Tentacula plants do other than attempt to strangle you."

"Of course not," Zabini rolled his eyes and sighed. "I want to be a naturalist after I graduate Hogwarts, but I want to study creatures, not boring flora and fungi."

"You are taking Care of Magical Creatures?" Lilith asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "With the _oaf?_ Blaise Zabini, whatever happened to your dignity?"

"Psshaw!" Zabini scoffed. "I would never do anything as low as that. I would've taken the class if Grubby-Plank still taught it."

"Same here," Lilith nodded in agreement. "I especially liked it when Grubbly-Plank brought the unicorn over. Unicorns are so much better and much more fascinating than Blast-Ended Skrewts or Thestrals."

"Definitely," Zabini agreed, turning to a certain page in his book. "I was almost certain that the Skrewts were trained to maul us."

"Exactly!" Lilith nodded at once, stabbing her quill onto her sheet of parchment. The parchment tore a little and ink leaked onto the table but Lilith didn't care. "The oaf should really get sacked but _no_. Dumbledore wanted to keep him here. What does he do anyway? Other than raise illegal magical creatures and attempt to teach?"

It was almost tea time when Lilith and Zabini's conversation had ended, though it was neither of them that had ended it. Lilith and Zabini were in a discussion about how dangerous Care of Magical Creatures was when Draco turned up in the library.

"Hey, Lilith?" Draco asked, walking towards Lilith and Zabini. "Can I ask you about something?"

"Sure," Lilith shrugged, getting up and following him away from the table to a secluded and quiet corner of the library. "What do you need?"

"Can you help me find Crabbe and Goyle?" Draco asked. Lilith noticed the way his eyes darted from side to side, rarely ever meeting her own.

"Why?" Lilith raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Honestly, you've been with them for years. You should know that they are always in the Great Hall or the Quidditch pitch munching on sweets from Honeydukes."

"Just help me find them!" Draco snapped at her. His grey eyes almost glowing fiercely. "I need them for something."

"Well, you are getting nothing out of me with an attitude like that," Lilith crossed her arms and glared up at him defiantly. "Why can't you contact me using the Galleon? Isn't that why you gave it to me in the first place?"

"Didn't have time," Draco hissed, his voice filled with slight disgust. "And I saw you in the library anyway, with Zabini. If he saw you checking your coin, he'd be suspicious."

"Did someone wake up on the wrong side of bed today?" Lilith asked harshly, feeling condescended by Draco's arrogant voice.

"Do you want to help me or not?" Draco's impatient voice rose rapidly, forcing Lilith to smack her hand over his mouth.

"Do you want others to know about your so-called mission?" Lilith hissed, her anger rising with each word Draco had said. "Fine. I'll help you find them. Where do you want them to meet you?" Draco brushed away her hand and spoke once more, his voice lower and quieter.

"In the potions' classroom," He ordered before turning away. "As soon as possible." And with that, he walked out of the library. Lilith noticed that he did not swagger or strut as much as he used to.

With a sigh, Lilith walked back to where Zabini was waiting.

"Sorry, but I need to go and do something," Lilith began to pack up. "I'll see you at dinner." Zabini nodded and continued his Herbology homework. Lilith could've sworn she heard a small sigh from him as she slung her book bag over her shoulder and proceeded out of the library. She shrugged it off and hurried towards the Great Hall.

Lilith looked around for a while until she finally spotted Crabbe and Goyle reading comic books by the Slytherin table and shoving chips into their mouths. They were both reading T_he Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle_. Lilith rolled her eyes. _Sixth years and _still _reading comic books for seven-year-olds?_ Lilith thought, rolling her eyes as she approached them. _At least it's not the damned _Quibbler _which really _is_ a load of rubbish._

"Hey, you two!" Lilith barked at Crabbe and Goyle. "You need to meet Draco in the potions' classroom." Goyle let out a grunt to show that he'd heard. Crabbe just nodded, his piggy eyes still fixed on the comic book. Lilith coughed once. "_Now_." Both stuffed the last of the chips into their mouths, got up, and walked out of the Great Hall, still reading the comic books. Lilith snickered when four first years bumped into them and fell back, scurrying away at Crabbe and Goyle's huge size.

She thought about what on earth Draco might possibly be doing with Crabbe and Goyle in the potions' classroom.

_Maybe he created a potion that would make them ten times smarter_, Lilith smirked. _Perhaps that was his mission. It would do the world some good_. She opened up _Witch Weekly_ and began to sip her tea, feeling certain that Draco Malfoy's mission was definitely easy to accomplish.

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Attention:** As some of you know, this story is a full and complete rewrite of Always There, We Found Love, and Take a Look at Me Now. I've been wondering for some time if I should delete the original stories or not. What are your opinions on this?

**Replies to Reviews:**

**sara253xxx: **Thanks :) I'll try to update a little more frequently, but do keep in mind that I have a buttload of homework to finish each day! :P I do hope that you will enjoy this chapter as well! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**ForeverTeamEdward13:** Thank you! I'll try to update whenever I can. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Yemi Hikari:** I would've stayed down in the horrible-fanfic-writing section if not for you! :) It's all thanks to you that I'm writing much better now, and I'll try to work on showing and not telling as much as I can :D You really are a fantastic friend and beta reader! Thank you for everything!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	6. Chapter 5: Detention With Flitwick

**Chapter Five: Detention With Flitwick**

Lilith walked towards the Quidditch pitch rather gloomily. Having gone to sleep at one in the morning because of her History of Magic essay, Lilith did not feel like practicing Quidditch. Nor was she looking forward to her detention with Flitwick later in the day. She began to really regret trying out for the Quidditch team, especially with Urquhart as the captain.

"If only Montague were still here," Lilith muttered as she mounted her broom and flew into the air for her warm-up. "Montague may be as dumb as a rock but at least he knows not to practice for over ten hours every single damned week."

"_Vaisey!_" Lilith almost fell off her broom when she heard Urquhart holler at their fellow Chaser. "Quidditch practice is not a time for socializing! Now, get over here and warm-up or else!" Lilith peered down at Urquhart and Vaisey, who had his arm around a dark haired girl. Lilith rolled her eyes. _Third one this month_, Lilith thought as she landed on the ground with the rest of the team.

"Fine, fine," Vaisey sighed dramatically. "See you later, Deanna." He waved away Deanna Hopkins in dismissal. Deanna seemed furious and stalked off. Lilith could hear her muttering about breaking up with Vaisey. Lilith shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"_Now_," Urquhart let out an impatient breath. "let's begin practice. Clarke, to the goal post! Lestrange, in the air, now! Remember, you have to work extra hard today! Crabbe, Goyle, stop munching on Fizzing Whizbees or else I'll Transfigure you both into pigs! _Harper__!_ I want you to get the Snitch before the end of practice!"

Lilith flew back up into the air, semi-disgusted by Urquhart's rudeness but she shrugged it off as she caught the Quaffle from Vaisey and practice began.

"Clarke!" Lilith gulped as Urquhart snarled at the Keeper. "What happened to your Keeper skills? Keep your eyes on the Quaffle and actually _catch_ it for once!"

Lilith kept well out of Urquhart's way and almost always ducked away whenever Urquhart tried to throw the Quaffle to her, which often resulted in Vaisey getting hit in the head as he lunged forward to catch the Quaffle.

"_Ow!_" Vaisey rubbed his head, wincing, as Lilith shot downwards to catch the falling Quaffle. "Hey, Urquhart! Can't you throw the Quaffle lighter? If you throw it any harder, my head's going to crack open!"

"Perhaps that'll knock some sense into your dull head!" Urquhart yelled back at Vaisey while Lilith bit back a smirk as she passed to Urquhart. "And stop trying to hook up girls during practice! _Focus! _Do you want Slytherin to win or not?" Urquhart threw the Quaffle towards one of the three goal posts. It would've been quite a spectacular throw if Clarke hadn't gotten in the way.

The Quaffle slammed into her stomach and knocked her off her broom at once.

"_Urquhart__!_" Vaisey shouted at the captain. Lilith flew right after Clarke's falling figure, drawing out her wand. "I told you to throw lighter!"

"_Aresto momentum!_" Lilith waved her wand at Clarke, sending a shimmer of dark blue sparks towards her. Clarke slowed down bit by bit until she landed gently on the ground. "You okay?"

"What the hell do you think?" Clarke growled at Lilith, clutching her stomach with two hands. Lilith raised an eyebrow as she hovered over the writhing fifth year. "'Course I'm not okay, you idiot!"

"That's no way to talk to your superiors, especially one that saved your sorry little life!"

"Enough, Lestrange!" Urquhart landed beside Clarke. He waved his wand and Clarke rose into the air. "Practice ends now! Meet me all here after dinner!" He marched into the castle, Clarke floating behind him. Lilith gritted her teeth as she headed for the changing rooms and quickly changed out of her robes. _What a pathetic little girl._

Lilith walked back to her dormitory, dumped her broomstick down beside her trunk, and shoved some books into her book bag. She barely even looked at the titles of her books. Lilith walked into the Great Hall and sat down next to Tracey, who, for once, wasn't with Daphne.

"Where's Daphne?" Lilith asked out of politeness as she took a long drink of pumpkin juice, forcing herself to keep her voice calmer and lower. "She was always with you." _Not that I care_, Lilith added silently in her head.

"Studying with Nott in the library," Tracey informed Lilith, immersing her nose back in a book, _Streaking with the Appleby Arrows_ by Gerald Waloski. Lilith cut herself a slice of treacle tart._  
_

"Why is she with Nott?" Lilith asked, very interested in this new piece of information. She could not imagine her cousin and Daphne Greengrass studying together in the library. _They are polar opposites!_ Lilith thought, rather astonished. Theodore Nott was studious, quiet, and mostly kept to himself. Daphne, on the other hand, was fun, energetic, and never took 'no' for an answer.

"Dunno," Tracey shrugged and turned around to converse with a fifth year Hufflepuff who was walking by. They talked eagerly about the Appleby Arrows. Lilith glared at Tracey; she hated her ignorance and was disgusted by the fact that she was talking to the Hufflepuff. Lilith knew the Hufflepuff. Jenny Wilson was a Muggle-born and was rather blunt. _When I want an answer_, Lilith thought rather menacingly. _I get one._

"I wouldn't expect you to know too much about them," Lilith drawled, malice glinting in her amber eyes. "Seeing as you _are_ _just_ a half-blood." Tracey's eyes widened a little and turned cold but she made no reply. "You wouldn't know the ways of pureblooded witches and wizards, anyway." Lilith smirked as she ate a mouthful of treacle tart.

Lilith saw, out of the corner of her eye, Tracey stiffen a little as she hurriedly waved away her friend.

"Who was your father anyway?" Lilith sneered, enjoying tormenting her new victim. "He was a Mudblood, wasn't he? Mudbloods aren't accepted in the pureblood society you know. They are not supposed to be allowed in this world of magic. At least he's gone now. Your mother was such an idiot to marry someone as filthy as _dirt_. You and your family are a disgrace to the wizarding world."

And with that, Lilith ate the last piece of her treacle tart and rose majestically from her seat beside Tracey. She slung her book bag over her shoulder and walked out of the Great Hall, her head held high and proud.

Lilith walked into the library, an air of arrogance around her as she sat down to complete her homework and to prepare for her Transfiguration quiz on Monday. She was halfway through writing her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay when she saw a streak of blond hair whip past the library window right in front of her. Lilith's eyes followed the streak and saw Draco Malfoy head towards the staircase rather urgently.

Lilith quickly placed her quill down and fast-walked out of the library. She hurried up the stairs as fast as she could, always keeping a glimpse of Draco's hair. Lilith silently cursed herself for being such a slow runner. By the time she reached the fourth floor, Lilith's legs felt spongy and she felt tired. However, Lilith was determined to find out that Draco was doing on the seventh floor.

"Come on, Lilith, you can do this," Lilith urged herself on as she hurried up to the sixth floor, forcing her legs to keep up moving. "It's just some stupid stairs. Are you _really_ going to let stairs get in your way?"

By the time Lilith reached the seventh floor, she felt like she was going to collapse. She hurried to the seventh floor corridor, panting heavily. Just as she reached the wall, she noticed something disappearing on it, something resembling a door. A little first year girl with brass scales looked at her, slightly frightened. Lilith blinked, remembering something very important that had happened in the previous year.

_Lilith sat in one of the armchairs by the Slytherin common room fire, poring over her Divination book in exasperation._

_"This is the most ridiculous book I've ever read," Lilith muttered to herself, flipping to another page, not even bothering to take notes. She didn't hear the members of the Inquisitorial Squad swagger into the common room._

_"Hey Lilith!" Pansy Parkinson flopped down onto a couch beside Lilith._

_"Hey Pansy," Lilith nodded at her in recognition as she shoved _Unfogging the Future_ back into her book bag and dug out her Herbology textbook dully. "Caught Dumbledore's Army yet?"_

_"No, but I think we found out where their secret little meeting place is," Draco chimed in, a smirk playing on his lips as he sat down on an armchair directly opposite Lilith._

_"Brilliant," Lilith replied flatly. "Though I do not recall inviting you to join in on our conversation."_

_"Why didn't you join the Inquisitorial Squad?" Pansy asked before Draco could reply. "Didn't Umbridge offer you a place in the Squad?"_

_"Yes, but Mother forbade me to do so," Lilith shrugged. "Believe me, I would've joined if not for-"_

_"Do you want to know about Dumbledore's Army's meeting place or not?" Draco asked impatiently, cutting Lilith off. "It's really quite interesting, and you ought know. Perhaps you can help us if-"_

_"_Fine!_" Lilith snapped, digging her nails into the back of her Herbology textbook. "Tell me where their stupid meeting place is." _Not that I give a crap_, Lilith added in her head._

_"There's a secret room at the seventh floor corridor," Draco began at once, a pleased glint in his usually cold eyes. "Members of the Army are using it to 'practice'. We saw that Lovegood girl walk alongside a wall three times and a door materialized in front of us. That's quite a hiding place they came up with."_

_"Great," Lilith replied simply and returned to her book as though nothing had ever happened._

"Wh-what are y-y-you doing here?" The first year squeaked, clenching the brass scales tightly in her tiny arms.

"Nothing that is of importance to you," Lilith drew herself to her full height and looked down on the first year as though she were an annoying fly. She quickly turned around and began the long walk back downstairs, deep in thought.

Lilith walked back into the library, ignoring the suspicious look from Madam Pince. She sat back down at her table again, but was unable to concentrate properly. Her eagle-feather quill was raised above a new sheet of paper, the ink drying steadily. Lilith tried to understand what they had been learning in Transfiguration by flipping through the textbook but her mind was elsewhere, completely elsewhere.

"Mind if I sit here?" Lilith looked up to see Blaise Zabini with a bag full of books, looking rather ruffled.

"Go ahead."

"What are you doing?" Zabini asked, curious as to why Lilith kept on flipping back and forth but made no move to begin taking notes.

"Oh, the usual. You know, waiting for Loony Lovegood to come by so we can talk endlessly about Gulping Plimpies and Wrackspurts, what else?" Lilith answered sarcastically with a hint of annoyance and superiority. "What do you _think_ I'm doing? I'm trying to take notes on this stupid subject to study for the stupid quiz." She waved off Zabini's smirk with a dismissive hand and returned to scanning her book. "And what brings you here today?"

"Have you heard about the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade?"

"No," Lilith shook her head, feeling a little ashamed. She'd been so caught up with her studies and Quidditch that she barely had time to breathe. "When is it?"

"October 19th," Zabini informed her. "Do you want to go with me? Nott's too busy hanging out with Greengrass, Malfoy's sick, Crabbe and Goyle will never come out of Honeydukes, Parkinson will groan and moan, Davis is a half-blood, and Bulstrode scares the crap out of me."

"Sure," Lilith shrugged. "I don't have any better things to do anyway, but we need to get back before dinner or else Urquhart will kill me."

"All right, so I'll meet you at the entrance hall after lunch on October 19th?"

"Deal," Lilith nodded, finally picking up her quill and beginning her notes. "Still have tons of Herbology homework?_  
_

"No more than usual," Zabini shook his head. "But we had a lot of Astronomy homework." Over her big book, Lilith could see a thick book on stars and constellations. "We have to write two rolls on how stars are formed and ridiculous things that we learned years ago. I swear that Sinistra is beginning to lose her marbles."

"Poor you," Lilith said sympathetically. "That's why I gave up on Astronomy. It's too confusing for me and a waste of time, though I would definitely choose it over Divination."

"You actually choose Divination as an extra subject?" Zabini rolled his eyes. "You basically asked for death."

"I thought it would be interesting," Lilith glared at Zabini stubbornly. "It wasn't my fault! I was interested in Divination because I was _brought up_ to be aware of my future. Believe me, I would've quit after the first lesson but Mother made me continue. Arithmancy is a much more exciting and interesting subject, though it would've been better if Granger were not in my class."

"I've always wondered why Granger is always such a know-it-all," Zabini commented conversationally. "Bet she's just trying to prove herself better than us."

"And somehow, she's doing it," Lilith said, glaring at her sheet of parchment as though it had caused it all. "My name was supposed to be at the top of the class list, not _hers_."

"Lilith? Can I speak with you for a moment?" It was Daphne, though her voice was much colder than usual.

"I'll see you later, Lestrange," Zabini said, beginning to pack away his quills and ink bottles. "I need to get something to eat before I starve to death." He left soon afterwards.

"As you were saying?" Lilith gestured to the now-empty seat in front of her. Daphne sat down rather reluctantly.

"I was talking to Tracey a few moments ago," Daphne began, suspicion and resentment almost pouring out from her eyes.

"And?" Lilith did not blink as her eyes bored into Daphne's brown ones; her tone was icy. "What about it?"

"Why were you insulting Tracey like that?" Daphne finally asked. "It honestly doesn't really matter that she's a half-blood. She thinks the same way as we do-"

"No, she doesn't," Lilith snapped at Daphne. "Why would you even think that? The only good thing about Tracey is that her wretched Mudblood father is dead. But, honestly, she'll never be fully accepted in our world anyway."

"But you needn't rub it in!" Daphne said angrily, her hand clenching into a fist. "We all know how sad she'd been when she lost her father two years ago! Come now, Lilith. She's been our friend ever since first year!"

"So?" Lilith narrowed her eyes. "She was conversing with a Hufflepuff! And she was ignoring me when I asked her questions. Every pureblooded witch or wizard should know that it's rude to ignore someone's question unless you absolutely have to and also the fact that Hufflepuffs should be shunned."

"That doesn't really matter, and Tracey was just talking to her because she was an Arrows fan!" Daphne glared at Lilith furiously. "You're too prejudiced for your own good!" Lilith suddenly leaned close to Tracey's face, her cold eyes inches away from Tracey's face.

"Purebloods are supposed to be prejudiced," Lilith hissed each word. "And _you _are definitely a blood traitor if your 'friend' is the daughter of a _Mudblood_." Lilith shoved everything into her bag and left the library._  
_

_They are too low for me_, Lilith thought, fuming as she entered the Great Hall for tea. _I'm better than all of them. I'm a real pureblood unlike Daphne and will stay that way_. Lilith grabbed a cookie and watched as a few owls flew into the Great Hall to deliver the afternoon post. A tawny owl landed in front of Lilith's plate, a copy of the newest _Witch Weekly_ in its beak and its leg outstretched with a pouch.

Lilith dropped a few Knuts into an owl's pouch and in return, the owl dropped the magazine onto Lilith's lap and took off. Lilith took the magazine and flipped through it, nibbling on her cookie. After finishing a rather fascinating article by Rita Skeeter, Lilith put the magazine into her bag and proceeded to watch some seventh year Slytherins play Wizards' Chess.

"Urquhart's still not too happy about you missing practice," Rebecca Clarke commented. Lilith had not notice Clarke sit down beside her; she'd been too engrossed in the many games the Slytherins had played. She had not noticed that it was dinnertime. It seemed that Clarke was all healed up again and seemed to be in a better mood than before.

"It's honestly not my fault though," Lilith said as she helped herself to some mashed potatoes. "It's technically his own fault though Flitwick also played a part in it. If we didn't have Quidditch practice so often and huge piles of homework, I would've been able to go to tonight's practice."

"You should be happy that you're missing practice," Clarke said miserably. "I'm getting sick of Quidditch. I mean, it's fun and I quite like being Keeper, but Urquhart takes all the fun out of it. We are only a school team though Urquhart thinks that we are in the British and Irish Quidditch League!"

"Urquhart is just being ridiculous," Lilith nodded in agreement. "Though I do agree that our team needs practice, mind, training over five hours a week is not going to help. We'll just end up becoming more and more tired and soon enough, we'll be known by the wizarding world as the first Quidditch team to die of exhaustion." Clarke smirked. Lilith smirked as well, thinking that she may've finally found a friend worthy of her.

"Have any idea what you're going to do during Flitwick's detention?"

"Not yet," Lilith shrugged. "He's probably going to make me practice the spell over and over again until I'm done and make me do extra work. I hate getting detentions. It takes away my homework time."

"I only got one detention, but it was on a Sunday afternoon so I was lucky," Clarke commented. "I forgot to completely my Transfiguration homework and McGonagall sent me to detention without another word."

Lilith conversed more with Clarke until dinner was over.

"I'll see you in the common room," Lilith told Clarke as she finished her last few spoonfuls of jelly. She headed to the Charms corridor and then to Flitiwck's classroom. She knocked twice.

"Please come in, Miss Lestrange," Flitwick's squeaky voice came from his classroom. Lilith noted how he sounded remarkably like Milly and sniggered as she walked in. "You are to practice the Aguamenti Charm on these plants to help Professor Sprout. When they are watered, you may leave." Lilith saw five large pots of plants and groaned inwardly, all feelings of gleefulness vanished.

Lilith saw as Flitwick settled on his many cushions and begin to read. Lilith sighed and took out her wand.

"_Aguamenti!_" Nothing happened. "_Aguamenti!_" Lilith kept on trying. _I'm not going to let some stupid little house-elf professor get the better of me_, Lilith thought vigorously as she waved her wand once more.

Finally, on Lilith's sixth try, a small sprinkle of water shot out from her wand and dribbled onto one of the plants. Lilith felt a surge of hope. _Perhaps this won't be too bad after all_, she thought as she tried it again. More water shot out. Lilith smiled, but it quickly faded when she realized how big the pots were. They were each half of Lilith's height.

"_Aguamenti!_" said Lilith once more, finally filling up the first pot. She glanced up at the clock. Twenty minutes had passed. Lilith felt like she'd been in the room for over two hours._  
_

By the time all the pots were filled up, it was nearing nine o'clock.

"Professor, I finished," Lilith said. Professor Flitwick didn't answer. "Professor?"

"Hmm? Oh, my apologies..." Flitwick had fallen asleep and had quickly woken up, rather red-faced. "You may leave now, Lestrange, and please remember to do your homework."

Lilith hurried back to the common room, feeling rather tired after the day's events. She scarcely noticed that Draco Malfoy was sitting in one of the shaded armchairs, thoroughly exhausted, as she walked towards the girls' dormitory. She never knew that those grey eyes watched her from the darkness, a tinge of tiredness and panic in them.

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Replies to Reviews:**

**phoenixqueen15:** Thanks! :D But please note that I won't be posting very frequently as I have many projects at school going on. I'm glad you like this story :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori:** That's what I've done. I guess I'll just leave them up there for the time being but I think I may have to delete it sometime in the future. I'm glad you liked the chapter :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	7. Chapter 6: The Opal Necklace

**Chapter Six: The Opal Necklace**

Lilith packed her book bag, making sure that her quills were not squashed flat and that her ink bottles were tightly screwed on. She completely ignored Tracey and Daphne who were whispering together nearby. _It's not like I'd die without friends_, Lilith thought confidently as she piled a few sheets of parchment into her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

She walked down towards the Great Hall and sat down at the Slytherin table, taking a slice of toast as she took out her Ancient Runes book. She was halfway through her breakfast when she felt a small sting at the side of her leg. Lilith shifted uncomfortably and slightly irritably; she was rather enjoying her book. It had been sent to her by Mrs. Lestrange and was one of the only books that was more interesting than the school textbook.

After five minutes, Lilith finally put her book back down and plunged her hand into her pocket, drawing out a golden Galleon. Her eyes widened as she read the message engraved on the hot coin:

_Meet me in the Owlery. Now. This is more important than you think._

Lilith dropped the Galleon back into her pocket and stuffed her book into her bag. She hurried out of the Great Hall. She still felt the Galleon burn in her pocket. She quickly turned a corner, trying to figure out why Draco would've called her to the Owlery.

Draco Malfoy was pretty easy to spot. His skin seemed much more paler than usual as well as sickly. He leaned against the wall, his blond hair was messy and covered his closed eyes.

"What took you so long?" He did not even look up. Draco's voice shook with accusation and anger; his voice was close to a snarl. "Wasn't the message on the Galleon enough to tell you how important this is?"

"You are not my number one priority," Lilith spat back. "Don't expect me to appear within seconds."

"Ten minutes, Lestrange, _ten minutes_," Draco shot back, his fierce grey eyes meeting Lilith's. "Ten minutes can make a big difference."

"I was preoccupied," Lilith grumbled. "But at least I'm here now! What do you want me to do?"

"You need to help me receive a package in Hogsmeade," Draco said at once, lowering his voice to a mere whisper. "It will be delivered by a black owl at the backdoor of the Three Broomsticks. Whatever you do, don't open the package. It contains an object of Dark Magic in there and will kill you if you touch it. Anyway, go into the Three Broomsticks and give it to Madam Rosmerta. And then you have to pretend as though nothing had ever happened. Remember, _don't open the package_."

"All right then..." Lilith said slowly, her anger ebbing away. "I'll do it. I'll see you around, I guess." She turned to walk out of the Owlery.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?" Draco blurted out suddenly. Lilith blinked, taken aback by the question. She turned around and looked back at him.

"Yes, I'm going with Blaise," Lilith nodded, thinking happily of how Urquhart had decided to let them skip Saturday and Sunday's practice for the trips to Hogsmeade. "Are you going with anyone?"

"Nope," Draco shook his head casually. "I can't go. I have to go to detention with McGonagall." He pushed past her and quickly walked away. Lilith stood there for a moment before slowly walking out and making it to her class just on time. She pushed Draco's question into the back of her mind as she tried to focus on rune-reading and Professor Babbling talking about them.

"Miss Lestrange, would you mind paying more attention in class?" Lilith flushed a dull pink as she turned back to the slightly annoyed professor.

"I apologize, Professor," She muttered. "It was not my intention to not pay attention." However, within seconds she was not listening to the professor again though this time she kept her eyes fixed on the board. She kept trying to find out just what Dark Artifact would she be receiving. Lilith also could not stop imagining herself being killed by the Dark Lord if he had found out.

Lilith flinched when she felt someone tap her shoulder. It was Millicent Bulstrode. She sat next to Lilith during the class usually.

"Come on, Lestrange," Lilith heard Millicent grumble. "We need to decipher these runes." Millicent held up a sheet of parchment with runes on it.

"All right," Lilith nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief as she turned around to get _Spellman's Syllabary _out of her bag. No more thoughts about the Dark Lord or the Dark Artifact invaded her mind as she began flipping through her book to try and translate the runes with Millicent Bulstrode.

The next morning, Lilith woke up earlier than the others in hopes of receiving the Dark Artifact earlier and getting the whole thing over with. She wrapped a scarf around her neck and snapped a traveling cloak around that as well. She dropped a pouch of gold into her robes as well as the Galleon and walked out of the dormitory. Only Pansy Parkinson was up and she was nowhere to be seen in the dormitory nor the common room.

Lilith sat down just as a few owls soared into the Great Hall with newspapers and magazines. Dropping a Knut into an owl's pouch, Lilith opened up the morning edition of the _Daily Prophet_ and began reading while she buttered a slice of toast.

By the time Lilith was finished with two slices of toast, most of the students had arrived and were beginning their breakfast. Lilith put the newspaper down and walked out of the Great Hall to the Entrance Hall. She saw Blaise Zabini waiting a few feet away from Filch who was prodding other students with his Secrecy Sensor.

"Shall we go then?" Blaise gestured to the large oak doors.

"Of course," Lilith nodded and followed Blaise to where Filch stood. He was triple-checking everyone with his Secrecy Sensor. Lilith glared at him with disgust but made no objection as he poked her cloak and her robes for Dark Artifacts.

"Do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks first?" Lilith suggested as they headed out into the cold, remembering her promise to Draco. She tugged her scarf until it was tighter and stuck her hands into her robes for warmth. Trying to be subtle, Lilith glanced at the sky, trying to search for a black dot.

"By the way, you know that Malfoy and Parkinson broke up, right?" Blaise asked, wrapping his emerald scarf around his neck, trying to shield himself from the wind.

"I was never aware that they were actually together," Lilith replied coldly, still trying to search for the owl.

"Well they were," Blaise said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, Parkinson's been whining to me about how incredibly sad she was when Malfoy didn't owl her back during the holidays and how he's becoming more and more snappy and ridiculous stuff like that. I _swear_ that she's trying to hit on me to get back at Malfoy. That gets _really_ annoying sometimes. I mean, I know I dated a couple of girls, you know, Daphne Greengrass, Jasmine Cooper..."

"Mhmm..." Lilith nodded, pretending to listen as she looked around at the sky for any signs of an owl.

Finally, in the distance, Lilith saw a speck of black coming closer and closer. Thankfully, they were right at the door to the Three Broomsticks.

"Blaise, how about you go in and grab a seat? I need to go use the bathroom really quickly," Lilith said. Blaise nodded and walked in. Lilith hurriedly walked towards the back door just as the black owl landed, a package between its beaks. Lilith took the slightly-wet package from the owl and it took off once more.

She walked into the Three Broomsticks through the back door as discreetly as she could, clutching the package to her chest. She made her way to where Madam Rosmerta was making shots of Butterbeer.

"Madam Rosmerta?" Lilith asked quietly. The landlady looked up, her green eyes rather duller than usual. "This is from Draco Malfoy." She held up the package. Madam Rosmerta nodded and took it, her movements oddly robotic. "Also, may I have two bottles of Butterbeer?"

"Four Sickles, please," Madam Rosmerta said as she took two bottles of it from the collection of shots. Lilith rummaged around in her money pouch for the Sickles and placed four on the table. Madam Rosmerta then handed her two bottles of Butterbeer. Lilith was quite surprised that Madam Rosmerta didn't ask her about how it was up at the school or how her day had been.

Lilith looked around for a moment before spotting Blaise sitting by a table, his nose in what seemed like a book on magical creatures.

"I got us some Butterbeers," Lilith handed one bottle to Blaise before sipping her own. She sat down right on the opposite of where Blaise sat.

"Thanks," Blaise took the Butterbeer began to drink it, putting his book back into his robe pocket. "Pansy Parkinson is literally stalking me." He jerked his head towards the door. Lilith looked past him and saw Pansy leaving the Three Broomsticks. "She keeps on trying to hook up with me. But, I can tell you, she's definitely the last girl I would want to date."

"It was quite annoying when the Yule Ball came around a year before," Lilith admitted. "Pansy wouldn't stop bragging that Draco was going to take her to the Ball. And I heard that she wasn't a very good girlfriend to Draco anyway."

"Most of the girls I used to date weren't great either," Blaise said with a tone of disgust. "Greengrass was too lively and energetic. Cooper was too studious and dragged me to the library every single day. Helen Jerkins did nothing but ramble on about hair products and _Witch Weekly_. I could really go on forever. And now I can't find a decent girlfriend. The only girls who are actually dateable are Mudbloods, half-bloods, or blood traitors. This is ridiculous."

"Mhmm," Lilith nodded, her thoughts straying away once more as she sipped her Butterbeer. A while later, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Gryffindor Chaser, Katie Bell, walk into the girls' bathroom. She watched as Madam Rosmerta, package in hand, went in after her quickly.

Lilith quickly averted her eyes back to Blaise who was still going on and on about how he couldn't find someone good enough. Soon enough, she saw Katie Bell exit the bathroom, but with the package in hand. Madam Rosmerta had returned back to cleaning the glasses.

"Do you want to stop by Honeydukes' before we go back?" Lilith asked when Blaise stopped to finish the last of his Butterbeer. "I need some Sugar Quills, Pink Coconut Ice, Sugared Butterfly Wings, and some Every Flavor Beans."

"Of course," Blaise nodded. "I need some more Chocolate Frogs. I can never get Ptolemy."

The two walked into Honeydukes' to buy their sweets.

"Really?" Blaise muttered, staring into the Chocolate Frog section. Only four Frogs were left. "I swear, this shop is going more and more downhill. Soon enough, it'll be just a candy stand."

"True," Lilith nodded in agreement as she took out her pouch to take out money for her candy. "But at least the candy's still nice." She piled most of the sweets into her robe pocket. She opened the can of Pink Coconut Ice and popped a square into her mouth before stowing that away too.

"Not really," Blaise examined his frog with a critical eye, he was clutching it so that it wouldn't escape. "The chocolate isn't as good and the frogs don't look like frogs anymore, more like newts." They walked out into the cold, Blaise still looking at his Chocolate Frog in slight disgust. "This is revolting." He chucked it away into the snow and focused on the cards instead.

"Wasted my bloody money," Blaise glared at his newly unwrapped Morgana card. He stuffed it in his robe pocket. "Let's head back now. The wind's getting very strong now and I woud hate to catch a cold." Lilith agreed and the two walked back up to the castle, hands stuffed in their robe pockets and half their faces buried in their scarves.

"By the way, thanks for coming with me to Hogsmeade," Lilith told him as they reached the castle, letting a rare smile show on her face.

"No problem," Blaise shrugged as if it were nothing much, but a twinkle in his hazel eyes contradicted that completely. "It's nice to be away from the library once in a while.

After Filch had finished jabbing the two with his Secrecy Sensor, Blaise asked, "Do you want to go get something to eat from the Great Hall?"

Lilith was just about to reply but then she felt a small sting at the side of her leg.

"I'd love to but I need to check with Professor Slughorn on our Potions' essay," Lilith lied smoothly. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall in ten minutes."

"All right, I'll see you there then," Blaise nodded and walked towards the Great Hall.

Lilith whipped out her Galleon and looked at what was engraved on it.

_Potions' classroom, now._

Lilith dropped the Galleon back into her pocket and hurried to the Potions' classroom. She had only taken a few steps into the classroom before she was shoved back against one of the walls in the classroom. Lilith's hand flew to her wand but not before another one slammed it against the wall as well.

"Did you give the package to Rosmerta?" Draco's pale face was inches from her own, his grey eyes fierce and panicky. One quivering hand held her shoulder to the cold stone wall and the other, her hand. "Did you?"

"I did," Lilith said simply, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "Now let go of me or I'll curse you." After a moment's hesitation, Draco withdrew his hands.

"Thank you, for that," He said quietly. Lilith could've sworn that she saw a warm glint in his usually-cold grey eyes.

"By the way, what were you doing by one of the walls on the seventh floor?" Lilith asked curiously.

"How did you find out?" Draco's eyes widened.

"I'm a prefect," Lilith lied. "I patrol corridors and I saw you just vanishing once."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lilith," Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed. "We haven't yet had Apparition lessons yet and you should know perfectly well that you can't Apparate in or out of Hogwarts."

"No," Lilith shook her head firmly. "One minute you were there and the next, you were gone. What were you doing there anyway?" There was a small moment of silence.

"That's where I do most of my mission for the Dark Lord," Draco finally said. He let out a sigh. "That's all I can tell you. Don't expect any more answers."

"When can you tell me your mission anyway?" Lilith asked conversationally. "It's been a while now."

"As soon as it's finished, I'll tell you," Draco promised, brushing his messy hair away from his face. "I don't mean to be rude but is that Pink Coconut Ice I smell?"

"Sure is," Lilith nodded, taking out the can. "Want one? You seem like you could do with a trip to Hogsmeade." Draco let out the first smirk Lilith saw in sixth year.

"If only, and yes, please," Lilith took a square out from the can and handed it to him. "I'd better go and continue my mission now. I'll see you around." The Pink Coconut Ice melting in his mouth, Draco left the Potions' classroom.

Lilith tucked the can of Pink Coconut Ice back in her robes and went to find Blaise in the Great Hall.

"Sorry about that," Lilith told him conversationally. "Slughorn was being as simple-minded as always."

"I have to go to every single goddamned dinner party because Slughorn always makes me come," Blaise complained as he took a bunch of chips. "It's getting increasingly annoying and all he ever does is ask McLaggen about his uncle. It's a waste of my time."

"That's why I'm glad I only see Slughorn during Potions' class," Lilith smirked. "I'm glad I didn't get an invite to your dinner parties."

"You really should've," Blaise commented. "At least I'd have someone to talk to there. Belby from Ravenclaw is obviously a half-blood or Muggle-born. You should've seen that way he eats. It was like watching a dragon devour a cow! Food flew out of his mouth every single time he chewed and he always talked with his mouth full. It's disgusting." Lilith wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I pity you," Lilith said, reaching into her pocket to take out another square of Pink Coconut Ice from the can. "How often do you have these dinner parties?"

"About... probably around once a week," Blaise thought for a moment before answering. He groaned. "And I have to go to one next Sunday. It's ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Someone should really explain to him that we have homework to do and tests to study for."

"That reminds me that I need to study for my weekly History of Magic quiz," Lilith said rather miserably. "I'll see you later." And with that, Lilith walked out of the Great Hall to get her book bag and walk to the library. The taste of Pink Coconut Ice lingered on her tongue for a moment before it disappeared completely.

The next day, Lilith woke up later than she usually did. She yawned and sat up. She looked around, rather surprised to see that no one but Pansy Parkinson decided to sleep in. Lilith pulled on her robes and tucked the can of Pink Coconut Ice in her pocket again. She walked out of the sixth years' dormitory and into the common room, which, unsurprisingly, was quite empty except for a few fourth and fifth years huddled together whispering rather urgently.

When Lilith entered the Great Hall, she saw that a great many people were whispering and talking together. Rather confused, Lilith walked up to Rebecca Clarke.

"Do you have any idea about what's going on?" Lilith asked, sliding into the seat beside her.

"What I heard is that the Gryffindor Chaser Katie Bell was cursed sometime yesterday," Rebecca told her, a look of confusion and disbelief on her face. "She was admitted to St. Mungo's a few hours before."

Lilith masked the look of complete and utter shock on her face with a look of small shock. Her heart started pounding louder in her chest as she remembered the package.

"That's... an interesting bit of information," Lilith said finally. "Just out of interest, do you know how Bell was cursed?"

"No one does," Rebecca shrugged as she reached out for a glass of pumpkin juice. "Snape only told us that Bell was cursed but he didn't say how."

"Oh, all right then, thanks," Lilith said, turning to her breakfast rather nervously. She looked around the Slytherin table for any sign of Draco Malfoy. Lilith frowned. He usually showed up for breakfast.

Lilith didn't eat much at breakfast except for a cookie and a slice of toast. She kept glancing around, waiting for Draco to walk into the Great Hall. Later, she decided to go and find him later.

Lilith had only walked a few paces out of the Great Hall when she almost collided with the one person she was eager to see.

"Draco, I need to talk to you in private," Lilith hissed.

"About what? And I'm really hungry, can't I talk to you after breakfast?" Draco glared down at her, looking sicklier than ever. Lilith pulled him away from the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Just _listen_ to me!" Lilith said, agitated. "Madam Rosmerta gave that package to Katie Bell. She was somehow cursed yesterday and is now in St. Mungo's." At this point, Draco stopped struggling and glanced at Lilith with wide eyes. "Who did you want the package to be given to? What was in the package? Surely you didn't want Bell to have it so that Slytherin would win the Quidditch Championship, would you?"

Draco opened his mouth for a moment before quickly closing it.

"How did you find out?"

"Rebecca Clarke from fifth year told me. The news is all around the school," Lilith informed him. "What was in the package?"

"It was a cursed opal necklace in Borgin & Burkes'," Draco explained. Lilith saw fear mounting heavily in his eyes, which stood out quite a bit from his even paler face. "The Dark Lord will kill me if I don't complete this mission."

"Is the mission really that important?"

"Yes, Lilith, it is."

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Important Notice:** I'm currently moving houses so my posts will take probably longer than usual. I apologize for the inconvenience and will try to update at least twice a month.

**Replies to Reviews:**

**Ms Snape - Malfoy:** Thank you! :D I'm glad you like this story too! You keep writing too! Never give it up :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori:** We'll see :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**AKToad:** That's all right :D Lilith was grown up to _really_ hate Muggle-borns and halfbloods and such, that's why she's that harsh. I'm really, really happy that you like this story better than the original :D I try to make every chapter over 3,500 words so you guys can read more :D We'll see, because this chapter was about Lilaisco :P Or Blilico. Or Draliaise :P Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	8. Chapter 7: Slytherin Versus Gryffindor

**Chapter Seven: Slytherin Versus Gryffindor**

Lilith stomped out of the common room, hissing and cursing at Urquhart under her breath. She dug her nails into the handle of her broomstick as she stalked to the common room, fuming because of how hard Urquhart had yelled and pushed her. Lilith's hands were extremely red and incredibly sore and her ears still rang with Urquhart's so-called instructions.

"_Get out of my way!_" She slamming the top of her broomstick into a third year boy's chest with as much force as she could muster. He stumbled back and scrambled out of her sight, clutching his chest and letting out gasps of pain. "Serves you right." Lilith shoved away some fourth years as she stomped up the stony steps to her dormitory, stumbling a few times when she lost balance. No one dared to laugh or even giggle.

"What a bastard. He deserves to die in a hole," Lilith muttered as she dumped her robes and broomstick on top of a bunch of clothes. A snarl followed right after as a spot of grey shot out from under the bundle of clothes. It was Smoke. His grey fur stook on end and were bristling so much that he looked like a small tiger. Lilith flopped on her bed. "Sorry, Smoke."

Lilith heard Smoke pad back to the bundle of robes and curled up on it. Lilith glared down at her sleeping Kneazle as though Smoke had caused it all. After a small while of growling and thinking of ways to chuck Urquhart into the Great Lake, Lilith sat up again, her brown hair tangled and smudges of dirt still on her pale cheeks.

She rubbed her cheeks to get rid off the dirt and dragged a brush through her hair. She plopped her Galleon back into her pocket and walked out of her dormitory, glowering at anyone who dared to sneak a glance at her.

"What are you looking at?" Lilith snapped at a first year. Almost instantly, all eyes looked away.

Lilith walked to the Great Hall and sat down, chewing her mashed potatoes with more ferocity than usual. She shot glares down the table at Urquhart who was in a very animated conversation with Harper.

"_Don't_ reach out at the beginning of your chase," Urquhart was instructing the wide-eyed fifth year. "At the very end of it, reach your arm out or else it could get hit or you'll get tired. Also, what kind of broom do you have? Nimbus? Cleansweep? It better not be a Comet, Harper!"

Lilith smirked as she took another bite. She saw Harper fidgeting nervously as he admitted that he had a Comet. Lilith could hear the roar of Urquhart's voice echo along the Great Hall. Several students from all Houses turned around to watch the fight between Harper and Urquhart.

"Mind if I join you?" Blaise appeared beside Lilith.

"Go ahead," Lilith nodded, still engrossed in Urquhart yelling at Harper.

"How was practice?" Blaise asked, taking a jug of pumpkin juice.

"Could've been better," Lilith shrugged. "Urquhart yelled the crap out of all of us."

"That bad?" Blaise asked, looking rather sympathetically at Harper who seemed like he wanted to sink into the ground and never be heard of again. "By the way, are you free on December 20th?"

"I think I am," Lilith looked up from her food in slight suspicion. "What's happening on that day?"

"Slughorn's hosting a Christmas Party for the 'Slug Club' and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me," Blaise offered. "It's mandatory that I attend and that I bring a friend."

"I guess so," Lilith shrugged, losing interest. "But isn't the Hogwarts Express leaving on that day?"

"We leave on the 21st," Blaise explained. "Slughorn made sure that the Express returned on the next day to pick us up and send us home."

"Great," Lilith replied shortly. "When does this party start?" She took a long drink from her goblet.

"Eight," Blaise said. "Should I meet you in the common room at around seven-fifty?"

"Sure," Lilith nodded, making a mental note to remember the appointment. "I'll meet you there, then." She abruptly changed the subject, getting ridiculously bored of it. "Still have lots of Herbology homework?" She didn't see the small twinkle in Blaise's eyes disappear as she was taking another drink of pumpkin juice.

"Yeah," Blaise nodded. "But it's easier than usual. For Thursday, all we needed to do was write down the qualities and properties of the Umbrella Flower."

"We're having more Arithmancy homework now," Lilith sighed, thinking of the two-scroll essay she had to write. "And we have weekly History of Magic quizzes that I have to study for."

"I can't believe you still take that subject," Blaise drawled out. "If I could, I would've dropped that subject before first year even started."

"I could probably sleep in that class and Binns wouldn't even look up from the chalkboard," Lilith smirked.

"I heard that a seventh year actually tried that once," Blaise commented. "I don't even think that Binns noticed at all. But at least he doesn't give detentions." Lilith nodded in agreement as they continued to talk enthusiastically about how horrible Binns was as a teacher.

On the day before the match during the Slytherin Quidditch team practice, Lilith was pretty sure that if Slytherin didn't win the match, Urquhart would yell and scream and proceed to turn each and every one of the players into toads.

"Ten laps of warm-up, off you go!" Urquhart said as soon as everyone had arrived for practice. "And be quick about it, too! I want us to have more time to practice!"

"Lestrange and Vaisey, here's the Quaffle," He tossed the red ball towards Vaisey. "Practice with Clarke while I coach Harper. Crabbe, Goyle! I want you to smack the Bludger at least ten times today!"

"Come on, Harper!" Urquhart screamed at the frightened fifth year. Lilith cringed. She hovered beside the goal posts, wiping sweat from her brows "Remember what I've been telling you for the past few days for Merlin's sake! Our first match of the year is _tomorrow_, do you want Slytherin to lose?" Unfortunately, Urquhart turned around and saw Lilith hovering in the air. "Lestrange! What are you doing? Just flying around is not going to help us win the House cup! Catch!" He tossed the Quaffle towards her._  
_

Lilith caught it, just barely, and shot off towards the goal posts, Urquhart behind her yelling out instructions to all members of the team.

"Clarke! Left hoop! She could be tricking you! Lestrange! Pass to Vaisey if you can't make it! _Middle hoop, Clarke!_ Vaisey! Score if you can! Crabbe! Goyle! Get the Bludger away from our Chasers! _Harper, get the Snitch already!_"

Lilith didn't dare ask Urquhart to stop with his yelling, especially since Urquhart was in a very bad mood and extremely snappy. She and Rebecca Clarke exchanged looks of fright as Urquhart zoomed after Crabbe, attempting to show them exactly how to use the bat.

"Crabbe, Goyle, you need to _whack_ it!" Urquhart mimed it with his hands. "And actually chase the Bludgers away! We don't want to lose our Chasers, especially in the middle of a game!" Crabbe and Goyle nodded rather dumbly but Lilith knew perfectly well that they'd both just carry on whacking the Bludgers their own way. _It's a miracle that they managed to obtain some O.W.L.s_, Lilith thought, smirking as she dived for the Quaffle.

"Fly faster, Lestrange!" Lilith heard Urquhart shouting after her. "You've got a _Nimbus _and you're flying slower than Harper and he's still got that blasted Comet Two-Sixty!"

"Fat moron," Lilith muttered under her breath as she took a shot. The positive side was that she scored. The negative side was that Rebecca Clarke could've caught her throw but was too engrossed in watching Harper being killed verbally by Urquhart.

"_Clarke!_ What happened to your skills?" Urquhart called. "If you don't start catching soon, I'll make sure that we extend practice until you start to catch the Quaffle!" There came groans from almost every single direction. Lilith scowled at Urquhart. _We already have practice four times a week!_ She thought rebelliously as she caught the Quaffle from Clarke. She threw it rather carelessly to Vaisey and began flying upwards, hoping to escape Urquhart's yelling for a few precious seconds.

"_AHHHHHHH!_" She heard someone scream. Lilith turned around at once, just in time to see Vaisey hit the ground, a Bludger whizzing beside him. The Quaffle had fallen from his hands and was rolling in the sandy ground.

"_Goyle, you idiot!_" Urquhart roared, descending down on his broom with the others. The fact that he was almost twice as tall as a third year, and that he was extremely mad, made him even scarier than Mad-Eye Moody. "Really, right before the match? What the hell is wrong with you? _We need him for tomorrow! _He's one of our best Chasers!"

Vaisey was moaning and clutching his head, a large painful bump on his head where the Bludger had hit him.

"I'm going to die, I'm so going to die," Vaisey groaned. Lilith was briefly reminded of her third year when Draco Malfoy had been slashed on the arm by the Hippogriff.

"You'll be fine!" Lilith snapped at him. "Madam Pomfrey will have you fixed up in no time."

"She'd better!" Urquhart muttered darkly as he flicked his wand. Vaisey was lifted into the air. Clarke and Lilith exchanged looks of anxiety as they followed Urquhart and Vaisey to the hospital wing.

"My, my!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she saw the huge bump on Vaisey's head. "You really ought to have safer practices."

"Don't tell me how to handle my team!" Urquhart growled. "Can you fix him or not?" Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at Urquhart's condescending tone.

"He needs to rest for at least a week." Lilith gulped, slightly afraid that Urquhart was going to take out his wand and curse everyone in sight.

"_A week?_" Urquhart's eyes widened. He whipped around, snarling at Goyle. "Look what you've done! Now how are we supposed to win the match? Lestrange! You go get Zabini. We need him to step in for Vaisey. Talk to Malfoy too. He was at least able to catch the Snitch during practices, unlike this idiot." He shot a glare at Harper.

Lilith hurried out of the hospital wing and proceeded to try and find both boys as soon as possible. She scurried around the castle, looking desperately for a sign of light or dark hair. She let out a tremendous sigh of relief when she spotted Blaise reading outside in the courtyard.

"Hey, Blaise!" Lilith called over to him. Blaise looked up, rather surprised. "Do you want to be our third Chaser? Vaisey got hit in the head by a Bludger and can't play tomorrow."

"Really?" Blaise smiled at once. "That's great! I'll go get my broom."

"Just meet the rest of the team in the hospital wing," Lilith informed him. Blaise tore towards the Slytherin common room at once, literally skipping with glee. Lilith rolled her eyes but she smiled slightly; she was glad that Blaise was happy. Blaise had been sulky after the Quidditch try-outs because he didn't get to become a Chaser.

Lilith continued on her search for Draco Malfoy. She'd found Blaise in a matter of minutes but Draco was surely going to take longer. After fifteen minutes of searching the courtyard, Great Hall, library, Owlery, and as many classrooms as she could manage, Lilith had begun to trudge back to the hospital wing, writing her will down mentally.

She was almost in the corridor to the hospital wing when she saw Draco emerge from the Great Hall with an apple in hand, glancing around at the deserted entrance.

"Draco!" Lilith said at once, walking in long strides towards her classmate. "Can you be Seeker for tomorrow's game? Harper is absolutely terrible and-"

"I would if I could," Draco replied flatly with a hint of tiredness in his voice. "Sorry but I just can't do it. I can't be Seeker this year." There was a note of longing and sadness in his voice.

"Maybe you can try out next year," Lilith suggested in a half-hearted attempt to cheer him up. "You'll probably get in anyway. Harper's an idiot and most certainly won't be on the team next year if he carries on like that." She saw Draco let out a smirk.

"We'll see," Draco said, a small grin on his face. "I'll see you later then. Have fun in practice."

"Oh, we never have fun in practice," Lilith smirked. "And, er, Vaisey got hit on the head with a Bludger so we wouldn't be having a great practice today."

"But still, good luck anyway. In the game tomorrow, too."

"Are you going to watch? Just for a little bit?" Lilith asked.

"No, I'll still be too busy," Draco shook his head reluctantly. "I'll see you around." Lilith and Draco parted and went their separate ways.

The next morning, Lilith woke up with a feeling of anxiety in her stomach. It was her first-ever match of the year. Lilith got up and gathered her robes where she'd left them yesterday. She looked around, noticing that only Millicent Bulstrode had woken up and had left the dormitory. Smoke purred as Lilith stroked him behind the ears and stepped into the bathroom to change from her nightgown to her normal school robes.

Once she'd finished, Lilith picked up her emerald Quidditch robes and grabbed her broomstick. She walked out of the common room and set off to the Great Hall. She was surprised when she was greeted by cheers from the Slytherin table, which was filled with green and silver. She noticed some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had joined in. As much as she disliked those two Houses, she felt that as long as they preferred Slytherin over Gryffindor, everything was fine.

Smiling brightly and feeling the knot in her stomach loosen, Lilith took a seat beside Rebecca Clarke. She saw Blaise talking with Urquhart, wearing his emerald robes proudly. Blaise didn't even bother to change into his robes in the changing room.

She happily booed and hissed whenever someone clad in maroon and gold entered the Great Hall with the rest of Slytherin House. She smirked when she saw Ron Weasley and Harry Potter enter the Great Hall.

"Weasley looks like he's going to vomit," Lilith said gleefully to Rebecca. "If so, then it'll be an easy win for us!" With that happy thought in her head, Lilith turned to her breakfast.

"It'll probably be an easy win anyway," Rebecca nodded in agreement. "The weather's perfect today."

After a hearty breakfast, Lilith followed Urquhart and the other members of the team down to the changing rooms. She was in high spirits as she changed into her Quidditch robes.

"First match of the year, Slytherin," Urquhart said, his eyes roving over each and everyone, making sure that they were all ready. "We've practiced hard for this and I don't see why we can't win this match. Come on, let's make Salazar proud." Lilith grabbed her broom and walked out onto the pitch with the others.

Lilith noticed that one end of the stadium was a sea of green and silver while the other end was a mass of red and gold. Lilith watched as Urquhart stepped up to Madam Hooch, who was standing ready to release the balls from the crate.

"Captains shake hands," Madam Hooch said. Lilith smirked at the sight of Urquhart's figure towering over Potter's. "Mount your brooms. On the whistle... three... two... one..."

The whistle sounded, Lilith and the others kicked off hard from the frozen ground, and they were away. While Lilith waited for the balls to be released, she listened to the commentator. To her, the commentator sounded different than the usual commentator.

"Well, there they go, and I think we're all surprised to see the team that Potter's put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley's patchy performance as Keeper last year, that he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain does help..." These words were greeted with jeers and applause from the Slytherin end of the pitch.

Lilith smirked. She craned around her broom to look towards the commentator's podium. A tall, skinny blond sixth year was standing there, talking into the megaphone. Lilith had seen him at the Hufflepuff table though today he was wearing green and silver to support Slytherin.

As soon as she saw the Quaffle leave Madam Hooch's hands, she dove for it. Catching it before any of the Gryffindor Chasers had, she tossed it to Urquhart, flying right behind him.

"Oh, and here comes Slytherin's first attempt on goal, it's Urquhart streaking down the pitch and —" Lilith held her breath.

"— Weasley saves it, well, he's bound to get lucky sometimes, I suppose." Lilith groaned, glaring at Weasley as she flew upwards.

Half an hour later, the Gryffindors led sixty points to zero. Lilith was getting increasingly frustrated and snapped at Harper every time they crossed paths.

"Get the Snitch, Harper!" She'd hiss as she streaked down the pitch with Blaise and Urquhart.

"Of course, Coote isn't really the usual build for a Beater," said the Hufflepuff commentator loftily, "they've generally got a bit more muscle—"

Lilith groaned again when a Bludger hit Harper, though much lighter than it had hit Vaisey. Lilith gripped the handle of her broom, determined not to let the Gryffindors get the best of her. Lilith dodged out of the way as Urquhart zoomed past her, Quaffle in hand. She could see him muttering angrily under his breath as he attempted to score once more. Weasley blocked it.

"And I think Harper of Slytherin's seen the Snitch!" said the commentaor through his megaphone. "Yes, he's certainly seen something Potter hasn't!" Lilith's heart leapt. _If Harper catches the Snitch, we'd win!_ Lilith thought excitedly as she glanced up.

Harper was speeding upward, the Snitch speeding along and glinting against the blue sky. Lilith had stopped moving completely and was now watching the two streak towards the Snitch, open-mouthed with many others, except for Urquhart who was yelling and cheering on Harper. He was getting closer, and closer, his hand was closing around the Snitch...

"Oi, Harper!" Lilith heard Potter yell faintly. "How much did Malfoy pay you to come on instead of him?" _No!_ Lilith yelled in her head, all signs of hope vanishing at once.

Harper did a double-take; he fumbled the Snitch, let it slip through his fingers, and shot right past it while Potter made a great swipe for the tiny, fluttering ball and caught it. Lilith barely heard the whistle over Urquhart's shouts of despair and the crowd's shouts. She dropped her head into her hands and let out a great big moan. She was almost trembling with anger and loathing.

"_Harper!_" "You almost got it there!" "Why did you let that fathead distract you?"

"It wasn't my fault! It was Potter's!" Harper argued back. "I could've gotten the Snitch if it weren't for him!" The rest of the team's arguments were drowned out by the Gryffindors rushing out of the pitch to have a celebration party.

Lilith left at once, not even bothering to say goodbye. She clenched her fist as she walked into the changing room. _What a miserable ending to a goddamned match_, she thought savagely as she began to change.

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

Sorry for the late update! I'm having quite a massive Writers' Block with Chapter 8 and I've forgotten to post this one. My apologies for the delay!

**Replies to Reviews:**

**phoenixqueen15:** Thanks! :D I like it better than the original too. Sorry for the delay in posting! As stated above, I'm having quite a bit of Writers' Block. I hope that you'll still read on! :D Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori:** I really enjoyed writing that chapter too! :D I'm really happy that you liked it! I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**AKToad:** I'm glad you like it! :D I hope you'll like this chapter as well! :D Sorry for the late update! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**ErinMyers:** Thank you! :D I've always liked criticism, because it helps me improve. Please don't hesitate to critique! :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Ms Snape - Malfoy:** Thanks! :D I'm really glad that you still continued to read! I think he's starting to realize it now :) They might be, they might be not. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	9. Chapter 8: Slughorn's Christmas Party

**Chapter Eight: Slughorn's Christmas Party**

Not even Christmas could raise Lilith's spirits that much. She felt as though she'd been thoroughly humiliated because of Slytherin's loss to Gryffindor. Gryffindors held their head up whenever they crossed paths with any Slytherin. Lilith had sent a few second year Gryffindors to the hospital wing for attempting to brag more about their Quidditch team's fantastic skills, all with rather disgusting and shocking injuries.

When Lilith had been questioned on whether she had cursed the second years or not, Lilith responded that she was practicing a Charms spell but it went wrong and accidentally hit the second years. Everyone, of course, knew that Lilith had cursed the Gryffindors and most definitely was not practicing a Charms spell. No one dared to confront her about it. _No one_ wanted to mess with a Lestrange. All Lestranges were deadly, and most people were smart enough to know never to anger them.

Some of the teachers had remembered when Bellatrix Lestrange had been at Hogwarts. It was almost too easy for one to mistake Lilith as Bellatrix's child, as they were quite alike. Both were admired, feared, and distanced. Lilith remembered what Ollivander had said about her and her wand.

_"Silver lime, dragon heartstring core, ten-and-a-quarter inches long, unyielding," Ollivander presented the polished wand to Lilith. The young girl took it and gave it a flourish, causing showers of silver sparks to explode out of the tip. A smirk spread across her face. "It's a very powerful wand you've got there, Miss Lestrange, quite similar to... certain members of your family." Lilith's eyes, as wise as an adult's, flashed._

_"Are you saying that I'll turn out the same way as... the 'certain members of my family'?" She challenged Ollivander haughtily. Mrs. Lestrange's slender fingers were on her shoulder, restraining her slightly, but her look was identical to her daughter's._

_"No, no, of course not!" Ollivander shook his head and let out a strained laugh to ease the tension, though fear was pooling in his eyes. "Seven Galleons, please." He was eager to get rid of them._

Lilith glared frostily at the laughing and squealing Gryffindors in the Great Hall as she took a sip of pumpkin juice. She opened her Charms book, _Quintessence: A Quest_, and began to read, feeling annoyed by the Gryffindors' chattering.

Lilith tried to shake away her bad mood by forcing herself to read every single line of _Quintessence_ and absorb it into her brain. Not even the decorated Christmas trees or the garlands of holly and tinsel on the banister of stairs helped improve her mood.

She glanced up when she heard the hoot of owls. Lilith looked on and discovered that Cadmus was among the whirlwind of specks.

She groaned audibly when Cadmus landed on her shoulder with a letter. There was no doubt that it was from Mrs. Lestrange, who was Lilith's one and only correspondent. She unfolded the letter dully and began to read it while Cadmus nibbled on Lilith's slice of toast.

_Lilith,_

_You have not yet replied my last two letters yet and I can only assume that you are busy with Quidditch practice and homework, which is totally acceptable. What is unacceptable is that your team didn't win against Gryffindor which is quite humiliating, even for me. Rosalind Urquhart had told me just how mad Ivan was when you lost to Gryffindor._

_I hope that I didn't buy you that broom for nothing though do make sure that you try and win some of the games. I also heard from Rosalind that you are having many weekly practices. Use that time well. It wouldn't do you much harm if you were to make one of the British and Irish Quidditch teams, preferably the Montrose Magpies._

_Also, I've been notified that there is a new Potions' master, is there not? I've also heard that it's Professor Horace Slughorn and that he holds special dinner meetings and small parties. I'm wondering whether or not you've been accepted as one of the 'elite', which is to say, one of Slughorn's favorites. That is also known as the Slug Club (quite a ridiculous name in my opinion). Though, I also have to say, that Slughorn is rather dumb. I was, in fact, one of his students and was, with your father, one of his favorites._

_The social meetings were quite dull, usually, but sometimes he brought over special former students of his. I've heard recently that Gwenog Jones was invited to one of those parties. It must've been Dumbledore who begged him to go back to his post. No one else would do anything that low. But above all, do try to get to Slughorn's good side. Who knows? Perhaps it's the idiotic Slughorn who will someday lead you to a wonderful job._

_And remember, write back!_

_Love,_

_Your mother_

Scoffing and rolling her eyes in derision, Lilith pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill. She briefly remembered Blaise returning from Slughorn's compartment on their ride to Hogwarts at the beginning of the year. _Slughorn is so creative_, Lilith thought sarcastically as she reached for her ink bottle. _The _Slug_ Club. How... _tasteful._  
_

Lilith dipped the tip of her quill in ink and began to write.

_Mother,_

_I am quite busy with Quidditch as well as increasing amounts of homework. I apologize for not writing to you. We tried to win, we really did. I'll bet you anything that the Gryffindor team cheated. And us _Slytherins_ are always accused of not playing fairly!_

_Yes, the Potions' master is Professor Slughorn. He favors Potter a whole lot, as though he were some priceless jewel. And only because he's got a stupid scar on his head. Blaise Zabini became a member of the Slug Club, as did Cormac McLaggen and Neville Longbottom. Blaise told me that Slughorn was hosting a Christmas Party and he asked me to go with him. Would you mind sending me some formal dresses for the occasion? Preferably emerald or aquamarine._

_I really dislike Slughorn as a teacher, but, per your instructions, I'll try to get on his good side. But honestly, all he ever does is drone on and on about how good Potter is at Potions. He used to be horrible at that subject! I honestly can't see why he suddenly became the 'Prince of Potions' as Slughorn often calls him. I was surprised that he even passed his O.W.L. examinations, especially with him being such a bighead. Potter definitely cheated. No one could possibly become _that_ good at Potions and in that amount of time!_

_Love,_

_Lilith_

Lilith tied the letter to Cadmus and watched as he flew off. Lilith returned to her breakfast, in slightly higher spirits than she had been before. For the first time in weeks, Lilith got past the day without wanting to chuck the Gryffindors off the Astronomy Tower or drowning them in the Great Lake.

Lilith was ever so glad when the last official day of term came around. _Only Slughorn's party and I'm free_, she thought as she walked into the Great Hall. As soon as she sat down and poured herself some pumpkin juice, Cadmus landed on her shoulder, causing her to knock over her goblet in surprise.

"_Scourgify_," Lilith muttered, a pink tinge appearing in her cheeks as two seventh years a few seats away from her began to snigger. Lilith untied the letter from her owl roughly and took the package. Cadmus gave a hoot of displeasure and flew off haughtily. Lilith opened up the letter and began to read.

_Lilith,_

_Here are your dresses. One is the green one from your Aunt Carolina for your sixteenth birthday and the other one is the silver dress I got you last year. By the way, I hope you don't get too close with the Zabini boy. While it is true that he's pureblooded, Slytherin, and from a wealthy and respected family, do remember what his mother had done. I would certainly not want my daughter to marry someone who's mother has married over 5 times. That is most improper and looked down upon in our society._

_While it is true that you two were together briefly in your fourth years, it does not mean that the feelings need to be 'rekindled'. You admitted after, that you both discovered that neither of you had feelings for the other. You two would make a nice pair, but I'd advise you two not to get too close._

_Along with your dress, I've also sent you a makeup kit. You need only open it and it'll apply the right amount to your face. You really should be applying it daily now. At least your usual scowl will be wiped off with something beautiful._

_But do enjoy yourself and make sure you get on the train back home on the 21st._

_Hope you have fun,_

_Your mother_

Lilith curled her lip in disgust when the read the part about makeup. _Mother is truly trying to kill me_, Lilith muttered in her head as she tucked the letter into her book bag. She checked her watch quickly. Lilith had fifteen minutes until her first class of the day began.

She hurried back to her dormitory and placed the package gingerly in her trunk. Lilith could hear the box of cosmetics in the package clink against each other. She groaned once more as she dragged her feet to her first class that day, Transfiguration.

By the end of her last lesson of the day, Ancient Runes, Lilith was irritated, to say the least. She had a lot of homework to do over the break, she had to survive a dinner party, as well as battle with a box of cosmetics.

"Great," Lilith muttered as finished up her dinner. "My life is just wonderful." Not even Peeves zooming around and yelling, "Potty loves Loony!" made her even crack a smirk.

At seven, after Lilith had finished the last of her dinner, she dragged herself back to her dormitory and opened up the package with caution. She took out the box holding the makeup and set it aside onto her bedside table, not daring to touch the buckles. Lilith then lifted two dresses out from the box.

Lilith looked from one dress to the other indifferently. Her mother had, of course, brought out two of the best-made dresses she owned. The green one was tiered and had ruffles while the silver one had sequins and was strapless. She put the green one on and began to drag her brush through her tangled hair.

"Pansy!" Lilith said as soon as she saw her classmate enter the dormitory. "Can you keep this box of makeup?" Lilith lurched forward and handed Pansy Parkinson the box beside her bed. "Don't open it unless you want to get a makeover."

"Sure," Pansy shrugged, taking the box. "But why aren't you using it?"

"I really hate the feel of makeup on my face," Lilith explained. "And I don't like it anyway."

"Oh," Pansy said, a little shocked, as she put the box in her trunk. "Have fun at the party, then." Pansy, being Pansy, felt that makeup was pretty important.

At ten to eight, Lilith walked out of her dormitory to meet Blaise outside the common room. One of the seventh years wolf-whistled. Lilith shot him a loathing glare as she reached the entrance of the common room, in a sulkier mood than ever. Her scowl, slouch, and the death-glare in her eyes marred her usually attractive Lestrange features.

"You look nice," Blaise told her when Lilith reached him at the entrance.

"Thanks," Lilith grumbled, shrugging. "You look nice too."

"Shall we go?" Blaise asked, looking rather cautiously. He knew exactly what Lilith could do if she were mad, having been witness to Lilith cursing second and third year Gryffindors.

"Sure, why not?" Lilith nodded. They walked to Slughorn's office silently, Lilith casting glares at everything that moved, including her own shadow.

The sounds of laughter, music, and loud conversation didn't help improve Lilith's mood as they stepped into his office. Lilith looked around, her eyes focusing on the larger-than-usual office; she was briefly reminded of how tiny Flitwick's had been. It seemed as though Slughorn had Transifigured his office into a vast tent. Lilith leered distastefully at the crimson and gold hangings between the emerald on the ceilings and walls.

"Slughorn is such a disgrace," Lilith muttered darkly to Blaise, inclining to the hangings. "He really should've been sorted into Hufflepuff, especially because he likes just about _everyone_."

"Or Gryffindor," Blaise nodded in agreement. "So he can be from the almighty House of _Potter_."

Lilith glanced around in the crowded and stuffy room, her amber eyes much more pronounced in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp. She grabbed a goblet of Butterbeer from a passing house-elf and began to sip it delicately.

"This is going to be a long night," Lilith sighed, looking around for any other Slytherins. There were the Carrow twins, but Lilith wasn't very familiar with them, seeing as they were in fifth year. Blaise had taken some sort of treat and was chewing it rather thoughtfully. He, too, took a goblet of Butterbeer.

"Zabini!" A loud voice boomed. "I'm glad to see you here!" Slughorn had shoved his way to them both, grinning and waving merrily. "And Miss Lestrange! I can only assume that she is your date, is she not?" Lilith almost spat out her mouthful of Butterbeer when she saw what Slughorn had been wearing. He was wearing a tasseled velvet hat and a smoking jacket, terribly unfit for someone of his size. He seemed as though he were going to a fancy-dress party.

"Pleasure to see you, Professor," Lilith forced her unwilling to turn into a smile, though it was definitely not genuine. "It certainly is a wonderful party so far."

"Hope you two have fun, then!" Slughorn smiled, not noticing the strain in both Lilith and Blaise's smiles. He turned around towards the entrance. "Harry, m'boy!" He pushed past Zabini, almost causing him to drop his goblet of Butterbeer.

"Saint Potter," Lilith curled her lip in disgust when she saw him enter with his date. "Is that... _Loony Lovegood_ with him?" She smirked at Loony's spangled silver outfit. "Her outfit really is tasteless. No one in their right minds would go for 'spangled' or 'crazy'."

"That can't be right," Blaise said, a calculating look in his eyes. "I never knew that Potter would sink so low as to bring a complete lunatic to a party as a date."

"The fame's gotten to his head, I'm sure of it," Lilith glared darkly at the two. "Famous _Potter_, only because of some stupid scar on his forehead."

"How did he become so good at Potions?" Blaise asked questioningly, throwing glances at Potter, who was talking with Professor Snape and Professor Slughorn. "Didn't he always get D's and P's before?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Lilith said, glaring at Potter with such fierceness, that if looks could kill, Potter would've dropped dead. "Slughorn claims that it comes from his Mudblood mother's side. Slughorn starts every lesson with jabbering about how good Potter is. It took me everything to not provoke my neighbor and ask them to use the Killing Curse on me."

"Oh, look, there's Professor Snape," Blaise inclined his head towards the dark-haired professor. "I didn't know he was invited to Slughorn's party." Lilith was just about to reply, but was cut off by scuffling behind her.

"Outta the way, now," Lilith heard someone wheezing behind her. She almost dropped her goblet of Butterbeer when Filch emerged, dragging Draco Malfoy by the ear. Surprisingly enough, there was no trace of fear or panic in Draco's grey eyes, only anger.

"Professor Slughorn," wheezed Filch when they reached Slughorn, a glint of triumph in his mad eyes. "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?" Draco pulled himself from Filch's grip, looking furious.

"All right, I wasn't invited!" He said angrily. "I was trying to gate crash, happy?" Lilith saw many heads turning around towards Slughorn, Draco, and Filch, all wearing slightly shocked and rather interested faces.

"No, I'm not!" said Filch, though the intense look of happiness on his face contradicted him. "You're in trouble, you are! Didn't the headmaster say that nighttime prowling's out, unless you've got permission, didn't he, eh?"

"That's all right, Argus, that's all right," said Slughorn, waving a hand in dismissal. "It's Christmas, and it's not a crime to want to come to a party. Just this once, we'll forget any punishment; you may stay, Draco." Filch's gleeful expression turned into outrage at once but he said nothing as he turned and shuffled away. Lilith turned her attention back to where Draco stood beside Slughorn.

Draco had composed his face into a smile and was thanking Slughorn for his generosity.

"It's nothing, nothing," said Slughorn, waving away Draco's thanks. "I did know your grandfather, after all..."

"He always spoke very highly of you, sir," Draco quickly, taking this opportunity to suck up to Slughorn. "Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known..."

"Where do you reckon he was?" Blaise asked, suspicion evident in his eyes. "I don't suppose he was taking an after-hours stroll, even with him being prefect and all."

"Maybe he was searching for Professor Snape on our essay," Lilith shrugged, trying to seem as indifferent as she could. She quickly changed the subject. "I didn't quite get it either. Did you?" As Blaise answered, Lilith's eyes drifted back to where Draco stood, still talking animatedly with Slughorn.

Draco Malfoy seemed paler and sicklier than ever. Lilith was surprised that Draco didn't drop down and go straight to sleep right there and then. Having been caught up with Quidditch and homework, Lilith barely had any contact with Draco for a bit. There were dark shadows under his eyes and a greyish tinge to his skin, making him appear rather ghostlike.

Lilith watched as Draco's eyes sneaked around while he talked, as though looking for an excuse to escape. Within seconds, Draco's eyes were locked with Lilith's, his gaze rather intense. Their eye contact was soon broken by Snape.

"I'd like a word with you, Draco," said Snape suddenly, appearing behind Slughorn. Slughorn cut in before Draco could say anything.

"Now, Severus," said Slughorn, "it's Christmas, don't be too hard —"

"I am his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or other-wise, to be," Snape replied curtly. "Follow me, Draco." He turned and left, Draco following him resentfully out of Slughorn's office.

"Think he'll get in trouble?" Blaise suggested. "He shouldn't be out after-hours anyway."

"He was always favored by Snape, though," Lilith added in. "I don't think he'll receive too much punishment."

"Favoritism," Blaise scoffed. "All the teachers have favorites." Lilith half-listened as Blaise began to rant and complain, her mind focused on Draco and his mission, whatever it may be. _What could be keeping Draco up?_ She thought, nodding absentmindedly at whatever Blaise was talking about. _Something on the seventh floor corridor..._

Her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw Snape re-enter Slughorn's office, but without Draco. Puzzlement overtook Lilith as she looked back at Blaise, wishing to get to the bottom of it all.

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Important Notice:** I'm currently moving houses so my posts will take probably longer than usual. I apologize for the inconvenience and will try to update at least twice a month.

**Replies to Reviews:**

**Ms Snape - Malfoy:** I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter :) Sorry for the late update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :D Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Anastasia Grigori:** I'm really sorry about the late update! I've been getting quite a bad case of writers' block during these few chapters :\ I do hope that the Christmas party is as interesting as you expected it to be :) Yes, Urquhart is there to annoy people :P Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	10. Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visit

**Chapter Nine: An Unexpected Visit**

From the moment Lilith saw her mother, she knew something was up. Lilith noticed a strange smile on her mother's face as she stepped off the Hogwarts Express, Smoke and his cage in one hand and her trunk and broomstick in the other. Mrs. Lestrange's smile had a hint of brooding and extreme happiness, something Lilith rarely ever saw.

"Hello, mother," Lilith said, suspicion growing with each and every step she took.

"Lilith," Mrs. Lestrange greeted her daughter with a little more warmth than usual, still smiling as though Christmas had arrived early "Come, let's Apparate back to the Manor." She reached out a pale hand. Lilith shifted her hands a bit until one hand was free. Lilith gripped her mother's hand and clenched her teeth as they Apparated back to Lestrange Manor.

Lilith hated Apparating. She'd been on many Side-Along-Apparition trips since she was five, but she'd never quite gotten over it. She loathed the feeling of being squished and pulled through a thin tube. At least she rarely ever threw up now. Lilith definitely dreaded the Apparition lessons they would have to take after they got back in January.

When they arrived at the gate to the manor, Lilith steadied herself, trying to shake away the dizziness. She blinked multiple times while Mrs. Lestrange stowed her wand back into her robe pocket and rapped a few times on the gate. The gate turned into smoke. After Lilith and her mother walked past, the smoke wove itself back into black iron gates.

"Milly!" Mrs. Lestrange barked. Seconds later, the old house-elf appeared by the gate. "Take Lilith's trunk upstairs to her room, take the broomstick to the shed, and let Smoke out in the garden." Milly sank into a low bow before hurrying forward, her paper-thin ears flapping. Lilith hid a smirk as Milly began to battle with the Kneazle; Smoke was as big as the old house-elf was and loved to get into trouble and blame it on Milly.

Mrs. Lestrange and Lilith walked towards the door, which swung inward at their approach. Lilith let out a tiny sigh as she gazed around the living area of the huge manor. Almost every single piece of furniture was black, or dark at least. It gave the manor a feeling of being trapped and constricted.

"Now, off you go to do your homework," Mrs. Lestrange's smile crept back to her face. "I have a quick letter to write." And with that, Mrs. Lestrange walked up the winding staircase, a little spring in her step. Lilith followed soon after and entered her room.

Lilith's room was somewhat brighter than the rest of the house, but only because mostly everything was a light emerald green. Lilith opened her trunk and began to shift over the carelessly-thrown-in mix of robes, textbooks, quills, ink bottles, sweets, and sheets of parchment.

Lilith dug out a few sheets of wrinkled parchment and began her Transfiguration essay. Her eagle-feather quill scratched the parchment dully. After finishing her essay and skimming through her History of Magic chapters, Lilith shut her book and tossed it back into her trunk carelessly.

"Milly!" She called loudly, slouching in her mahogany chair. The house-elf appeared with a crack. "Get me a slice of sponge cake and a cup of tea with extra sugar." Milly bowed. Lilith heard another crack as the house-elf Disapparated.

Milly was back in the room quicker than Lilith expected, with a slice of cake and a cup of tea.

"Your cake and tea, Miss Lilith," Milly bowed once more. Lilith nodded as the house-elf put them on her desk. Just as Milly turned, Smoke had entered Lilith's bedroom, his big bushy tail held high and his yellow eyes menacing. Seconds later, Lilith was smirking while Smoke chased after Milly, yowling as he demanded food.

For the rest of the day, Lilith lounged around and did some more homework while she sipped her tea and ate her cake. Soon, Milly showed up to tell her that dinner was ready.

"Lilith, people will be arriving tomorrow afternoon," Mrs. Lestrange told Lilith as she poured gravy over her mashed potatoes. "I'd like you to be on your best behavior. I'll have Milly send your dress and shoes up. I've picked them out specially for this occasion."

"Dress and shoes?" Lilith halted in pouring herself pumpkin juice, looking at her mother with sudden interest. "Who's coming?"

"Just a group of people," Mrs. Lestrange said, waving her hand dismissively but her eyes contradicted her. "You'll see tomorrow." And that was the end of that. Nothing Lilith said or asked could convince her mother to tell her who was coming. Lilith got increasingly more interested, though she did her best to hide it. Knowing her mother, it would probably be a few of her close friends coming over to gossip about the latest Wizarding news.

The next day, Lilith woke up to see an elegant long-sleeved pale green dress on a chair with silver heels and tights. Lilith groaned when she spotted a makeup box on her dresser. _There's no chance of escaping _that _now,_ she thought miserably as she threw back her emerald duvet and trudged to the bathroom, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

By twelve, Lilith had changed into her outfit for the day. She winced as she tried to break the heels in, almost tripping as she walked down the stairs.

"You look nice, Lilith," Mrs. Lestrange was already sitting at the dining table. Lilith could've sworn that her mother had added "for once" under her breath. "Don't crease your dress!" Lilith made a big show of smoothing her dress down as she sat down, secretly glaring at her mother.

"Really, Lilith, sit up straight!" Mrs. Lestrange said when they were ten minutes into eating lunch. Lilith gritted her teeth and straightened her back, making her appear a few inches taller than she was before. "I would not like you to disappoint our guests."

Lilith didn't eat too much; she wanted to be able to eat more during dinner and thus not be able to talk to their 'guests'.

"You better go and put on your makeup now," Mrs. Lestrange instructed as soon as Lilith had finished the last of her lunch. "They should be arriving soon enough."

Lilith managed to walk all the way back upstairs to her room without tripping, which was quite an amazing feat for her.

"Might as well get this over with," Lilith muttered as she opened the makeup box, preparing for the worst. All different types of makeup bounced out of the box. Mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, foundation, everything. Lilith gritted her teeth as she felt different brushes attack her face.

After a few minutes, Lilith felt the brushes and tubes leave her face and the dull clunk that meant the cosmetics had been placed back in the box. Lilith peered into her bathroom mirror, sighing when she saw how much makeup she had on. Lilith barely recognized herself. Grabbing a tissue, Lilith spent the next half hour wiping off most of her lipstick and eye shadow until she looked as natural as she could, but with enough makeup for her mother's sake.

"Lilith? Are you done yet?" Lilith heard her mother call from downstairs. "The Puceys will be arriving soon." Pucey? Lilith wracked her brain. She thought she remembered someone called Pucey...

"I'm coming!" Lilith said, quickly walking out of her room and descending down the stairs to where her mother stood, clad in rich, velvet clothing. "Wait, why are the Puceys coming?" Mrs. Lestrange said nothing but sit down on one of their expensive Italian leather couches, still smiling the smile she gave Lilith all day long. Lilith sat down too, on the couch beside her mother's.

Lilith and her mother waited in the sitting room for the Puceys. Lilith heard a very faint pop outside and saw Milly Disapparate to welcome the guests. Lilith gaped when she saw the former Chaser, Adrian Pucey, walk in to the manor beside his mother and father. She and Adrian had rarely spoken to each other, only knowing the other due to Quidditch tryouts. Lilith knew that he graduated two years ago; they haven't had any contact since.

"Geoff, Aria, Adrian," Mrs. Lestrange rose gracefully at once to welcome them. Lilith quickly got up and followed her. "Pleasure to meet you. May I present my daughter, Lilith." Mrs. Lestrange rested a hand on Lilith's shoulder and nudged her forward.

Lilith curtseyed as Adrian and Mr. Pucey bowed, putting pieces of the puzzle together slowly. She let out a smile, hoping that it wasn't as strained as she thought it was.

"Pleased to meet you," Lilith gave Mrs. Pucey a polite nod and gave Mr. Pucey a curtsey as well.

"I'm sure that Lilith would be delighted to show Adrian our garden," Mrs. Lestrange gave Lilith a very convincing smile before turning back to Mr. and Mrs. Pucey. "She absolutely loves to spend her time there. Now, off you go."

Lilith forced a smile to Adrian as she turned towards the back door, doing her best not to trip on her ridiculously high heels.

"Allow me," said Adrian as he opened the door for her. Finally out of her mother's view, Lilith nodded at Adrian stiffly as she stalked out of the manor and into the garden.

"So, I'm sure that your mother has told you about this in advance right?" Adrian asked as they stood in the garden facing each other. Adrian looked around the garden, thus not noticing Lilith's cold amber gaze. "About a possible courtship?"

"No, sadly my mother has failed to inform me about this," Lilith's eyes narrowed to slits. Adrian missed the sarcastic tone. "But it is her wish that I am married the old fashioned way."

"The question is, do you want to be married that way?" Only now did Adrian Pucey turn to look at Lilith. "Personally, I think that arranged marriages are too outdated."

"Not for my mother," Lilith grumbled. "She and my father were married through an arranged marriage." She took great relish in seeing Adrian flinch when she mentioned her father though she hid it under a layer of fake concern.

"Are you quite well, Adrian?" Lilith asked, her voice dripping with poisoned honey. "You seem a little pale." She challenged him, silently daring him to bring up the fact that her father was Rabastan Lestrange, one of the most feared Death Eaters.

"Uh... I'm fine," Adrian said, though there was a hint of fear in his voice. "It's just... rather cold out here, that's all." Adrian quickly glanced around the garden. There wasn't much to look at.

The little pond Lilith often sat by was frozen solid. The trees were no longer lush and green, but instead, cold and bare. The roses had died out; snow was gathering slowly on the lonely flowerbed. There was no sign of life in the dark garden except for Smoke, who was trying to catch snowflakes with his claws.

"You have a... er... very nice garden," Adrian said after a few moments of silence in which both watched the Kneazle prance around.

"Thank you," Lilith replied coolly.

"I think it's crucial for me to know this," Adrian began. "but are you seeing anyone at the moment?" Lilith's first thought was of Blaise, but someone else edged into her mind as well.

"Yes, I suppose I am," Lilith said slowly after a small hesitation, but she soon snapped back into her cold self. Adrian seemed rather disappointed but not fully discouraged. "Shall we go inside now?"

"Of course, of course," Adrian rushed to the door and opened it for Lilith, who nodded once more, as they re-entered the manor.

Mr. and Mrs. Pucey were sitting with Mrs. Lestrange in the couch area, each with a glass of wine in hand. They seemed to be laughing and having a good time.

"How was the garden, Adrian?" Mrs. Pucey smiled at her son. "Charming, I hope?"

"It was very nice," Adrian replied as Lilith flashed Mrs. Pucey a winning smile. "I especially liked the pond."

"Ah yes," Mrs. Lestrange turned to the Puceys while Adrian and Lilith sat on a couch beside them. "Lilith loves the pond as well. There are times when I can't get her to come back in."

"I take it that she loves nature?" Mr. Pucey said in his deep voice.

"Definitely," Mrs. Lestrange smiled. "And she enjoys reading a lot, too." Lilith smiled while Mrs. and Mr. Pucey let out nods of approval.

Lilith spent the rest of the afternoon throwing dark glances at her mother when the Puceys weren't looking. Mrs. Lestrange pretended not to see them as she yet threw fact after fact about Lilith that would surely steer her on the way to becoming the new Mrs. Pucey.

"Let's have some dinner, shall we?" Mrs. Lestrange finally said after a few more hours of torture. Lilith let out a small sigh of relief; her stomach was growling and she was definitely very hungry. "Milly! Bring our dinner in."

Lilith stretched her stiff legs as subtly as she could and joined the Puceys and her mother at their mahogany dining table. Her gaze swept over the silver plates and utensils, representing the second House color for Slytherin, as well as the silver goblets. She watched as Milly began carrying plates of delicacies to the table using elf magic.

Lilith soon found out that her original plan did not work at all. She could scarcely get a mouthful of food in without Mrs. Lestrange or Mrs. Pucey directing a question at her. With every question she answered, she saw the smile on her mother's lips get wider and smugger.

"So, I heard that you're on the Quidditch team this year, Lilith?" Adrian asked.

"Yes, yes I-" Lilith began.

"Oh yes she is," Mrs. Lestrange cut in at once. "A most talented one too, at that. Pity that they lost their first match. But you are working hard, aren't you?" Mrs. Lestrange turned to her daughter.

"Of course we are," Lilith said, fidgeting as she searched for an escape route. It was just at that moment that Milly appeared, a roll of parchment clutched between her bony fingers.

"Mail for Mistress Lilith from a Blaise Zabini," Milly bowed, holding out the scroll to Lilith. Before Mrs. Lestrange could object, Lilith took the letter; a sly smile creeping on her pale face.

"If you'll excuse me, I really do need to send a reply back to Blaise," Lilith said sweetly as she stood up. "He's a very dear friend, you see."

"So... you are quite friendly with the Zabinis, yes?" Lilith noted that Mrs. Pucey's smile was slightly strained.

"Oh, yes," Lilith flashed a charming smile at her, taking relish in seeing fire blazing in Mrs. Lestrange's eyes. "We are wonderful friends at school." She turned towards the staircase and began to climb it, feeling immensely satisfied.

Lilith walked down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door quietly. She kicked off her high heels and sank down into the plush velvet seat. Lilith had no intention of going back down to her mother and the Puceys until she had wasted as much time as she possibly could. She unrolled the roll of parchment and began to read.

_Lilith,_

_I hope you are well. I'm currently writing from Milan, where we are staying with the rest of our family. I can't think of a better way to waste my time. My younger cousins are always bragging about how they managed to turn pebbles into pearls. Show-offs. Pity that I couldn't stay at school or at our manor, where I would've been able to practice Quidditch or at least talk to someone of equal intelligence._

_Can you believe how much homework the teachers have assigned over the holidays? I've got to thoroughly research the Umbrella Flower (Can you think of a plant more boring than that?) and write a two foot essay on it. I regret ever choosing to continue with Herbology._

_My cousins are so annoying that it's quite remarkable I'm related to them. It's definitely not interesting to listen to your cousin brag about how your older cousin got an incredibly smart Kneazle or how your grandparents' garden is flourishing more with every passing day. It's just those kind of things that no one actually cares about._

_Surprisingly enough, I wish I was back at Hogwarts. At least there are sane witches and wizards there. I didn't think that I would be writing to anyone so soon. Desperate situations cause for desperate measures._

_Merry Christmas!_

_Blaise_

Lilith took a brand new scroll of parchment out and began to write a reply, feeling slightly annoyed that Blaise had always complained to her about everything. _BUt at least he's someone who respects what I think and what I do_, Lilith thought, dipping her quill into her ink bottle.

_Blaise,_

_I'm quite well. I'm still here in our manor in Wiltshire. Though it has been merely days since we departed the Hogwarts Express, a lot has happened. Only today, my mother brought over the Pucey family. For whatever reason, Mother has failed to inform me that Adrian Pucey would be courting me. I'm only sixteen and I honestly do not believe that it's time for me to start looking for a husband._

_Mother's ways are very old-fashioned and I see no way that she will change her beliefs. I wish that I, too, was back at Hogwarts. At least there, I had Quidditch to distract me. I wish Mother could've let me stay in the castle. That way, I would have my own space without her breathing down my neck all day long._

_I've received a lot of homework too. I know very well that our N.E.W.T.s are coming up and we need to study, but this is clearly outrageous. It's like in fourth year when McGonagall piled a humongous amount of homework when she very well knew that our O.W.L.s were next year._

_Good luck surviving your trip to Milan and Merry Christmas to you too._

_Lilith_

Lilith rolled up the parchment and glanced up at the clock. She had spent a little over an hour in her bedroom. Sighing, she put on her torturous high heels and walked out. She turned and headed to the owlery, where the Lestrange family owls were kept.

Lilith smiled when she heard the familiar hoots of the owls residing there. Lilith looked around for Cadmus, who was almost always used for long-distance travels She beckoned the snowy white owl down to her. Cadmus stood perfectly still on her shoulder as she tied the letter to his leg.

"Send it to Blaise Zabini in Milan," Lilith said. Cadmus set off at once, flying out the open window.

With no other choice, Lilith descended down the stairs once more. She was met by the uncomfortable silence of the Puceys and her mother, who began to highly resemble a Hungarian Horntail. They had only just finished dessert.

"I apologize for my brief absence," Lilith gave the Puceys a reassuring smile as she took her seat once more.

To Lilith's great pleasure, the Puceys only lingered for a few more minutes before rather awkwardly leaving the manor. Lilith, acting as gracious as she could, followed them out to the black iron gates with her mother, waving and smiling.

Only when the Puceys Disapparated did Lilith's smile slip off her face to be replaced with a grimace.

"Perhaps there is a reason why you didn't tell me the Puceys were coming?" Lilith sneered defiantly at her mother.

"Do you dare talk to me in that tone?" Mrs. Lestrange narrowed her eyes. "Adrian is a perfectly fine boy and would make a decent husband for you. He's much better than that Zabini boy that you seem so obsessed with."

"_Obsessed?_" Lilith's eyes widened in shock. "We are nothing but friends! I only actually used him as an excuse to get out of that situation."

"How about the situation in which you two went to the Yule Ball together two years ago?" Mrs. Lestrange pressed on. "And he asked you to Slughorn's Christmas Party, did he not?"

"Yes he did," Lilith replied, exasperated. "But that was only because his mother thought we would make a good couple." She quickly changed the subject. "But why did you set me up with Adrian without telling me?"

"It was for your own good!" Mrs. Lestrange glared at her daughter. "Now go and finish your homework and actually do something productive. I do not want to see you anymore for the rest of the day."

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

Sorry for the late update! I had writers' block for a while but thankfully now it's clearing up a bit.

Merry Christmas everyone! :D

**Replies to Reviews: **

**XenaDragon-xoxo: **I'm glad you enjoyed it so far and hope that you'll also enjoy reading this chapter :) Thank you so much for reading this story and reviewing :D

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	11. Chapter 10: Christmas At Lestrange Manor

**Chapter Ten: Christmas At Lestrange Manor**

On Christmas Day, Lilith woke up to see a huge pile of presents neatly stacked at the foot of her bed. Childish happiness erupted within her as she smiled at the great amount of presents all wrapped pristinely and tied with bows. She had always received a large amount of gifts on Christmas Day; you would if you were from one of the oldest and wealthiest pureblood Wizarding families. The house-elves must've carried the parcels up after they were delivered the night before. Even now, Lilith heard the hoots and screeches of owls still on their journey to deliver Christmas presents. Throwing back her heavy duvet, Lilith edged towards the presents and took the one on the very top. It was a large, flat parcel and was wrapped delicately in green wrapping paper and tied with a shining silver bow.

Upon opening the present, she had found a dress and shoes, undoubtedly from her mother, who took each and every opportunity to give Lilith dresses and makeup and whatnot. The dress was rather pretty; it was a pale green knee-length satin dress and had little diamonds embroidered on the black bow tied around the waist. However, Lilith deemed the shoes dangerous as they had much higher heels than she was used to. Lilith stowed the dress and shoes away into her walk-in closet and took the next gift, including letter from Blaise. The present turned out to be a box of delicious caramel-filled Italian chocolates. In return, Lilith had sent Blaise a scarf and a pair of expensive dragon-skin gloves. Lilith placed the letter and box of chocolates onto her desk, hoping to remember to reply later.

Then Lilith turned to the rest of her presents, which were from various aunts and uncles and extended members of the family. A few notable presents included ones from the Notts and the Malfoys. She had not bothered to open the rest, knowing that it would contain more dresses and jewellery.

After changing out of her dressing gown, Lilith descended down the stairs to join her mother for breakfast.

"Merry Christmas, mother, and thank you for the dress and shoes," Lilith told her mother as she took her place at the table. Milly, along with Tippy, another house-elf, immediately began serving her breakfast.

"Merry Christmas," Mrs. Lestrange nodded a little coolly before returning to reading an article by Rita Skeeter in the morning edition of the _Daily Prophet_. Even though a few days had passed, Mrs. Lestrange had still not quite forgiven Lilith for, as she put it, 'humiliating' her in front of an old Wizarding family. Great animosity still existed between mother-and-daughter.

Lilith began to butter her slice of toast while listening to the house elves bustle about in the kitchen preparing for a small Christmas feast.

"Are we expected at any Christmas parties tonight?" Lilith asked. Purebloods usually had many Christmas parties, always hosted by different families each year. The Lestranges have hosted some of the most fabulous Christmas parties in the past, but they haven't hosted one in years.

"No, we are not," Mrs. Lestrange replied. "And neither will we be hosting any. It's too much of a bother." Lilith had a few recollections of Christmas dinner parties over the years. She'd attended some in her childhood and only remembered them as boring and a waste of time.

After Lilith finished her breakfast in uncomfortable silence, she excused herself and hurried back upstairs to try and complete the rest of her homework. She grimaced at her Arithmancy textbook and, with a sigh of disappointment, began to write her essay._  
_

She had only written a few inches when her mother called her down.

"Lilith, come down!" Lilith groaned in exasperation when she heard her mother call her. She was in the middle of thinking of a good comeback until she heard Mrs. Lestrange's next sentence. "Adrian has sent you a Christmas present."

Lilith was not expecting Adrian Pucey to have sent a gift to her a few days after Christmas Day either, especially since Lilith had thought she had made it very clear that she was not one bit interested in engaging in a courtship with him. Lilith was still furious that Mrs. Lestrange had set her and Adrian up without informing her and that feeling had not begun to ebb away. She doubted it ever will.

"Has he?" Lilith asked, desperately wishing it was a mistake, as she reluctantly walked down the stairs to where her mother stood.

"Yes, he has," Mrs. Lestrange handed a parcel to Lilith. Lilith took it tentatively and unwrapped the black velvet bow. She took off the shining wrapping paper and opened the box. Mrs. Lestrange stood beside her, looking much more eager at what Adrian had got Lilith than Lilith was. Mrs. Lestrange waited for her daughter's reaction to the expensive gift.

However, Lilith's face was devoid of emotion as she lifted an extravagant diamond-encrusted bracelet from the box.

"Looks pretty enough," Lilith shrugged indifferently as she replaced the bracelet back into the box. _There would be probably seven identical ones sent from my relatives_, Lilith thought glumly._  
_

"And you will wear it, won't you?"

"It depends," Lilith said, speaking in a somewhat careless tone. "I'm not one for jewellery."

"But you _will_ wear it whenever the Puceys visit," Mrs. Lestrange said sternly before taking the bracelet gingerly from the box. "It's a simply exquisite bracelet and I'm sure that Adrian will be glad to see you wear it." She examined the piece of jewellery from different angles; the diamonds caught the sunlight and twinkled.

"He is not going to court me, Mother," Lilith said flatly. "And I don't even want him to." _Why is that so hard to understand? _Lilith added silently in her mind.

"Adrian is a fine young boy and will make a very suitable husband for you," Mrs. Lestrange said forcefully. She cast a dark look at her daughter before returning to examining the bracelet. "But, of course, we can't rush a marriage and you're still at school."

"I'm not getting married at seventeen either," Lilith shot back. "People don't do that nowadays. It's so old-fashioned! We should be allowed to actually _choose _who we marry."

"I don't see any reason to break the tradition that's been passed down for centuries," Mrs. Lestrange replied in a dangerous tone, challenging Lilith to continue on the matter. "Now go back upstairs and finish your homework. Take the bracelet with you." She replaced the bracelet back into it's spot in the box.

Lilith held the box in a firm grip as she walked back up to her room. She tossed the parcel onto her bed without a second glance and took her seat back at her desk. She faced the seemingly impossible task of finishing her Arithmancy essay once more. She didn't notice the handsome screech owl perched on her window sill until it knocked its beak on the glass pane several times and caught her attention.

Lilith got up and opened the window, allowing the owl to drop a lumpy package on her desk before flying off again. Lilith narrowed her eyes at the sight of the badly wrapped gift. It was covered in newspaper and was wrapped incredibly distastefully compared to the rest of her gifts, which were all wrapped expertly and with utmost care. She took the newspaper clippings off to find a single red rose.

Upon closer examination, Lilith realized that the rose was in fact, fake, but only charmed to look realistic. The petals were the exact texture and color of a normal rose but only specially-bred hybrid roses survived freezing winters. The rose Lilith received was only an ordinary garden rose, not unlike the ones which grew in the Lestrange garden. Lilith shuffled through the newspaper and found a small, crumpled piece of parchment.

She smoothed out the piece of parchment and read:

_Lilith,_

_Merry Christmas and thanks for all the help you've given me._

_-Draco_

It was written in a hurried and messy scrawl. Lilith frowned; she didn't think that Draco would send her a Christmas present. Lilith scanned her room for something to give him. Her eyes fell on an unopened can of Pink Coconut Ice. She briefly recalled giving him a square in the Potions' classroom when they were alone. Without a second thought, Lilith wrapped the can in the remainders of the green wrapping paper and hastily tied the silver bow around it.

Then, Lilith took out half a sheet of parchment and wrote down the following:

_Draco,_

_Thank you for the rose; it is a delightful present. Merry Christmas to you too, and I hope everything is going well._

_-Lilith_

Lilith took the parchment and her gift and headed to the owlery. This time, Lilith looked around for Romulus since Cadmus would later be used to send Blaise's reply. The handsome tawny owl stood quite still as she tied the gift and the parchment onto his leg.

"Send it to Draco Malfoy," Lilith told the owl. Romulus hopped on her shoulder and hooted cheerfully before spreading his wings and flying out of the window. She watched until he was no more than a speck in the sky and then returned to her bedroom and picked up Blaise's letter. She read:

_Lilith,_

_Merry Christmas! I hope you like the chocolates; they're filled with caramel and nuts and are quite famous in Milan. I hope you'll have a nice Christmas. I'm sure it's going to be better than mine. It's not fun being holed up here. At least I'll be returning back in a few days' time. _

_I think we'll be having Apparition Lessons right after Winter Break ends. Apparition will most likely come easy to us purebloods and we'll have the pleasure of seeing Mudbloods struggle. I do enjoy Apparating; it's wonderful to disappear from one place and reappear in another. I can't wait till I'm seventeen and I can Apparate anywhere I want. __I'm still appalled at the amount of homework we received for the break, though. I'm _still_ not entirely complete with my report on the Umbrella Flower! Also, we have to read an enormous section in _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_._

_You're in a courtship already? That really is a bit too soon. We're a new generation and I think that we should have new pureblood Wizarding laws. Adrian Pucey was on the Quidditch team the past few years, wasn't he? I recall him playing Chaser. Pucey was pretty good, wasn't he? He seems like a nice bloke, but it is still too early to be looking for a partner. I would imagine that I'd like to be at least twenty years old before I start looking for a wife. _And_, I'd like to be able to choose my own wife. My mother is thinking of setting me up too. Recently, she tried to set me up with Amelia Elton from fifth year._

_Will our parents ever learn that we would like to discover our love on our own? I completely disagree of arranged marriages. I do hope that you'll survive your courtship and find a way out._

_Blaise_

Lilith was completely unsurprised that Blaise had already been set up. Mrs. Zabini wanted only the best for her son. Lilith had heard of the Eltons; they were a respected pureblood Wizarding family, but not completely wealthy or rich in appearance. Feeling rather sympathetic for Blaise, Lilith took out a sheet of parchment and began writing a reply.

_Blaise,_

_Merry Christmas! I hope you've received my present. My Christmas is not going too well. Adrian has sent me a Christmas gift and I'm obliged to wear it whenever the Puceys come and visit (I hope they never do again!). Thank goodness Adrian isn't at Hogwarts anymore, or else I'll have to deal with him on a daily basis._

_I never liked Apparition; it made me sick the first few times I tried it. I hate the thought of getting Splinched and I hope that doesn't happen during the lessons. Is there anything more humiliating than Splinching in front of the entire sixth year? But yes, I suppose that Apparating should come quite easily to us. Mudbloods will have to do their best to get up to our standards. I have a long Arithmancy essay to write. I do enjoy the subject, but essays? Nope. I bet that seventh year will be much, much worse. How do people even survive their final year at Hogwarts?_

_Exactly. We should have new pureblood Wizarding laws. Arranged marriages are honestly too outdated and I like the idea of loving whoever I want, rather than being forced to love someone that I don't want to. Yes, Adrian was on the Quidditch team. He is rather nice, actually, but I wouldn't want him as a husband. I would only have him as a friend and nothing more. Amelia Elton is not bad, though it would be better if her parents could afford to take her to a beautician and make her more attractive. She is quite smart though; I heard fifth years talking about her getting O's and E's in almost all of her homework._

_And I hope you'll survive your courtship as well. I'll see you at school!_

_Lilith_

Lilith walked back to the owlery and tied the letter onto Cadmus' leg.

"Send this to Blaise Zabini in Milan," She told him once more. The owl gave a hoot and soared out of the window.

The next few days passed by very uneventfully. Lilith was very glad that Mrs. Lestrange couldn't get the Puceys around again.

"Out of all the times in the year, they just have to go and visit Paris _now_?" She heard Mrs. Lestrange huff after reading a letter from Mrs. Pucey. "They better be back for Easter break." She had not known that Lilith was listening outside her mother's study. Lilith had just came back in from reading a book in the garden with her Kneazle and just happened to hear and see her mother's reaction.

She heard the distinct roar of a fire and knew that her mother must be communicating with the Puceys through the Floo Network.

"We are really very sorry but we had to decline," Lilith heard Mrs. Pucey's voice, presumably from the fire. "We have to visit Paris every year because most of Geoff's family and cousins reside there. I do hope you understand, Cassandra."

"Of course I do!" Lilith could hear the forced happiness in her mother's strained voice. "It was really an inconvenient time for me to schedule another meeting, what with all the holiday traveling going on. I just felt the need to organize another visit as Lilith was really looking forward to seeing Adrian again."

"Was she?" There was a definite tone of surprise and suspicion. "She seemed a little off during our first meeting, especially when she mentioned the Zabini boy."

"It was only nerves," Mrs. Lestrange lied quickly. "And Lilith was just acquaintances with Zabini in Hogwarts. Lilith always gets rather nervous and a little shy during first meetings with others." Lilith sighed inaudibly. Mrs. Lestrange was really doing everything in her power to get the Puceys to visit.

"She really was a dear," Mrs. Pucey remarked. "I wish that Adrian could've had more time to know her, though. Lilith seems like a charming lady, albeit a little shy." Lilith snorted quietly. She was anything but shy.

"Lilith usually warms up to people by the second or third meetings," Mrs. Lestrange told her. A pushy tone edged stealthily into her voice. "Do you think you'll be able to drop by during Easter break? I'm sure that Lilith would be delighted to meet Adrian again."

"I guess we'll see what we can do," Mrs. Pucey said uncomfortably. "But I think that Adrian is going to Australia to do work for the Ministry."

Lilith smirked happily and almost skipped to her room, her book on Greek mythology grasped in one hand.

Lilith was feeling very happy on the night before she returned to Hogwarts. Before she slept, Lilith had triple-checked that she had everything with her. She had also polished her wand. She had not used magic in a few weeks and longed to be able to perform charms and spells again.

On the day of her return, Lilith walked down the stairs to breakfast with an air of gleefulness. Mrs. Lestrange was indifferent and breakfast found her reading the morning edition of the _Daily_ _Prophet _as usual. Lilith was served breakfast by the house-elves. Every few minutes, she checked the time on her watch until eleven o'clock finally arrived.

"Today you'll be returning to Hogwarts using the Floo Network," Mrs. Lestrange said. Milly and Tipsy were holding Smoke's new cat basket, and Lilith's broomstick, and trunk while Mrs. Lestrange got the green fire ready to transport Lilith back to Hogwarts.

"Remember, I expect great things from you, Lilith," Mrs. Lestrange said sternly. "And I hope you do well in your end-of-year exams. Do your best to listen in class, even if some of your teachers shouldn't even be teaching at your school."

"Yes, mother," Lilith nodded, trying not to show any of her exasperation as she took a handful of powder and threw it into the fire. "Hogwarts!" Without looking back, Lilith stepped into the roaring emerald green flames and shut her eyes. She was spinning through past fireplaces until the whirling finally slowed down and stopped at the fireplace in Slughorn's office. Lilith managed not to fall forward or trip.

"Miss Lestrange," Slughorn looked up from his desk as Lilith climbed out of the fireplace and dragged her trunk, broomstick, and cat basket out. Smoke was growling rather angrily; he had not expected to travel by Floo. "Welcome back to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, Professor." Lilith said, while dusting ash off of her robes and luggage.

"The new password for the common room is 'ambition'," Slughorn said before returning back to his sheet of parchment. There was a small rumble from the fireplace behind Lilith. She moved out of the way quickly before someone fell onto the floor, evidently not expecting to make such an entrance.

Lilith hid her smirk when she saw Tracey Davis stumble as she got to her feet and fall down again once more, due to the weight of her trunk and owl landing onto her bed. Ash sprang up from where Tracey had landed and spread all over the office.

"I'm so sorry, Professor!" Tracey squeaked, almost tripping over her owl's cage. "I don't usually travel by the Floo Network."

"Not a problem, not a problem," Slughorn gave her a kind smile before whipping out his wand. "_Scourgify!"_ The ash disappeared and Lilith, sniggering quietly, left Slughorn's office and walked down the cold stone steps to the Slytherin common room.

"Ambition!" Lilith said once she reached the stone wall. It slid open and Lilith walked into the Slytherin common room.

Lilith had never felt so happy when she stepped into the grandly decorated room. She gazed fondly at the roaring green fire in the fireplace and the dark green leather armchairs and sofas, a few of which were taken by students finishing up homework or conversing quietly. She smiled at the water lapping against the windows and the shadows of creatures in the Great Lake moving about. The entire room was bathed in greenish light from the intricate and ornate green lamps hung around the magnificent room. Lilith's amber eyes wandered around the room, gazing at the many tapestries of famous Medieval Slytherins.

With a small sigh of happiness, Lilith turned and headed towards the sixth year Slytherin girls' dormitory. She had just finished organizing her things by her bed when Tracey walked into the dormitory, her light face and robes still streaked with ash. Tracey flushed when she saw Lilith in the room with her and hurried to her bedside, almost dropping her owl's cage.

Lilith rolled her eyes and snorted derisively as she sat down on her bed and looked out the window at the small streak of sunlight above the water. Her annoyance at Tracey ebbed away and was replaced with latent joyfulness. Lilith was back home.

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Replies to Reviews:**

**Anastasia Grigori: **Thank you so much! c: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I hope you'll like this chapter as well c: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Ms Snape - Malfoy:** Haha, that's all right! :) I'm so happy that you like it! That's all right :) Happy Belated New Year and Merry Belated Christmas to you too! c: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	12. Chapter 11: Bloodroot Poison

**Chapter Eleven: Bloodroot Poison**

Lilith woke up earlier than usual on her first day back at Hogwarts. She felt a glimmer of happiness as she tugged her robes out of her trunk. By the time she had changed into her robes, her dorm mates were only just beginning to wake up. Subconsiously, Lilith tucked the golden Galleon into her pocket as she pulled her messenger bag out and began to pile her books in along with her homework, ink bottles, and quills. She walked out of the sixth year girls' dormitory to find a few second and third years were huddled by the noticeboard, which had been updated overnight with the latest news. The new Hogsmeade dates had been put up, as well as information and updates for Apparition lessons, and Quidditch practice sessions.

Lilith's birthday was on July 18th, so she qualified for Apparition lessons. It'll be useful someday, Lilith urged herself to think. And purebloods like me can afford it easily. It'll be better if I Apparate without anyone assisting me. Though she felt a little queasy at the thought of Apparating, she took out a quill from her bag and signed her name on the list, right after Goyle's messy scrawl. Her eyes fell on the Hogsmeade dates and was informed that the next Hogsmeade trip would take place on March 1st. She found the Quidditch practice sessions list and noted that practices were going to be held in one-hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoons as well as Friday afternoons. She snorted and rolled her eyes when she saw the Gobstone Club and Frog Choir notices.

She took one more careful glance at the noticeboard before walking out of the common room and towards the Great Hall for breakfast. She scanned the Slytherin table for familiar faces as she took a sip of pumpkin juice. She noted that Blaise was back and was in a deep conversation with Nott. Daphne and Tracey had just sat down together a few seats away from Lilith and were talking quietly together. Lilith frowned as she tried to find the one face she'd been looking for. Draco Malfoy was nowhere in the Great Hall.

Lilith turned back to her breakfast, shrugging off the feeling of unease. Knowing Draco, he was probably doing the homework that he had neglected throughout the break. Lilith took a few bites of toast before digging into her bag for her schedule. She smoothed out the crumpled sheet of parchment and read her Monday schedule. Lilith groaned when she realized that she had Transfiguration first. She did enjoy the classes, but disliked Professor McGonagall. Lilith rolled it up and stuffed it in her bag just as the owls flew in with the morning paper and various packages.

She paid her delivery owl a few Knuts and flipped open the _Daily Prophet_. She flipped through the pages, growing increasingly bored by the endless advertisements for cleaning products; there was nothing new in the newspaper. Lilith glanced at her watch before dumping the newspaper in her bag and walking towards the Transfiguration classroom.

"Hey, Lilith!" Lilith turned around to see Blaise catching up with her, his bag bouncing with textbooks.

"Hey Blaise," Lilith said as they walked down the corridor towards the Transfiguration classroom. "I trust you had a good holiday after returning from Milan?"

"It got better by a lot once I returned," Blaise nodded in agreement. "Do you mind if I sit next to you during Transfiguration? I despise sitting next to Abbott in class; all she ever does is doodle on her textbook about how much she adores Boot from Ravenclaw. It's embarrassing that I have to sit with her and listen to her giggle and blush like a tomato whenever he answers a question. I honestly don't get why McGonagall assigned me to sit by her in the first place."

"Of course," Lilith nodded as they reached the classroom, digesting the new information on Abbott. _You never know when you need to blackmail someone_, she thought. She had always sat with Tracey and Daphne, but ever since she'd ended their friendship, Lilith began to sit with Nott more often._  
_

"Damn it," She heard Blaise curse.

"What's wrong?"

"I left my homework in my dormitory," Blaise said, frowning as he checked his bag and letting out a deep sigh. "I'll be right back." He hurried off towards the dungeons.

Lilith walked into the Transfiguration classroom and dumped her bag by an empty seat. She began to fiddle with a lock of dark brown hair absentmindedly while she waited for Blaise to appear.

A streak of white-blond caught her attention from the doorway.

Lilith was shocked at how sickly Draco looked. He seemed even paler than ever, if that was possible. There were dark shadows under his light, tired eyes and his silvery hair was ruffled and messy. He was panting as though he had just ran a mile and his robes were all wrinkled. Draco Malfoy looked very different from the smirking, arrogant boy she was so used to seeing.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are almost late," McGonagall said, frowning at him. "Sit by Miss Lestrange. I will not have students late in my N.E.W.T. class." Draco nodded and dumped his bag beside his new desk. Blaise arrived only seconds later, his roll of parchment gripped in his hand.

"Mr. Zabini, do not arrive late again or I'll be docking points off Slytherin," McGonagall said sternly, shaking her head in disapproval before she turned to face the class. "I will not tolerate this sort of behaviour again. Sit with Miss Abbott now, hurry. We have a class to start."

Twenty minutes into class, Lilith was taking a few notes when she heard a voice whisper quietly beside her.

"Lilith." She jumped a little, accidentally dropping her quill in surprise.

"What?" Lilith whispered back to Draco, trying to keep her attention trained on McGonagall, who was talking about the techniques and wand movements needed for advanced Transfiguration.

"I need your help," He replied in a hoarse voice, as though he'd spent the entire winter break talking.

"Again?" Lilith whispered in surprise. "Will I have to receive another package?"

"No, it's-"

"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Lestrange, would you like to share what you were talking about with the class?" McGonagall asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. She crossed her arms and glanced at the two Slytherins disapprovingly. Lilith flushed a dull pink.

"I apologize, Professor," She said smoothly. "I was merely talking to him about how wonderful your last Transfiguration was." McGonagall was not easily flattered.

"Voice your opinions after class, not during it," McGonagall replied before continuing on with the lesson.

By the time there was only a few minutes of class left, McGonagall let them have a start on their foot-and-a-half long essay. There was some quiet chatter around the classroom of people discussing the essay and looking up facts and information in their textbooks. Lilith pulled out her book and a roll of parchment out from her bag and began to write her essay when she heard Draco whisper quietly once more.

"Lilith," Draco began. "Can you help me brew this potion?" He handed her a roll of crumpled and tattered parchment. Lilith frowned a little; she had not thought that Draco would've wanted her to brew a potion. Raising her eyebrows slightly, she unrolled it and began to read.

**Bloodroot Poison**

_Bloodroot is a perennial flowering plant, of which harbours delicate small flowers. The stem of this unusual flower is covered in poisonous small spikes; dragon hide gloves are recommended when picking this plant and when adding the stem into a potion. The flowers compose of white petals tinged with red. Bloodroot may be found residing beside rivers in the wilderness but only a handful grow in every forest. Bloodroot may be found anywhere in the world, as long as it is in a forest, but it is very hard to spot and even harder to pick. Once away from freshwater, bloodroot can only survive for up to fifteen days before shrivelling up and being deemed useless._

_The petals of bloodroot, when crushed, are toxic and when inhaled directly, may severely damage one's health and cause severe pain which can only cease by eating a bezoar. The stems of the flowering plant, when cut into pieces, is extremely useful and highly prized amongst experienced potion makers. It helps disguise the Bloodroot Poison by turning it into the exact colour, texture, and taste of whatever other liquid it is poured into. It is not used commonly in potion-making, though it is still of high value. Information from a survey has proven that bloodroot stems can be sold for as much as 23 Galleons._

_Bloodroot Poison is a potion that causes the drinker to suffer severe pain and spasms, which cannot be healed in anyway apart from eating a bezoar. Without the help of the antidote, the drinker will soon be dead within a matter of minutes. Bloodroot Poison comprises of many ingredients, but bloodroot is the most important. It is a highly-advanced potion, far beyond the capabilities of mediocre potion makers._

By that point, Lilith stopped reading abruptly and her face paled a little. A chill went down her spine when she read that the poison was strong enough to kill.

"Why do you need this potion?" She asked quietly, scanning down the list of ingredients and instructions. She didn't even know a third of the ingredients. She felt a shiver pass through her as she wavered slightly under Draco's intense grey gaze. "Why can't you brew it yourself?"

"I have to do other things to," Draco said flatly. "and you said you'd help me." he added, looking at Lilith with an accusing eye.

"What other things do you have to do?" Lilith said. _Get a grip on yourself, Lilith!_ She thought vigorously. _Lestranges do not show their weaknesses at any point._ "I have Quidditch practice and homework to do. I daresay that you'll have enough time to brew any potion. This potion... it could kill! Why do you need such a strong poison?"

"That is none of your business," Draco spat, his eyes now a stormy grey. "I just need it as soon as possible."

"It says plainly here that this potion is far beyond the capabilities of even most potion makers!" Lilith hissed, rolling up the parchment and shoving it back into Draco's hand. "And I certainly do not want to be caught brewing such a dangerous potion! The teachers are already watching my every move, if they see me brewing this, they would chuck me in Azkaban without a moment's notice!"

Draco's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to retort when Professor McGonagall interrupted him.

"Class, you are dismissed," McGongall said, raising her voice over the chatter. "Remember, I need a foot-and-a-half essay on my desk by our next class." Lilith had never been more glad as she piled everything into the bag and almost sprinted out the door, her heart racing.

Lilith was determined to avoid Draco Malfoy for the rest of the day. However, he was persistent. Lilith cursed him for having almost the same subjects as she did. Draco went as far as slipping copies of the potion into her bag whenever she wasn't looking. That caused Lilith to be late for Ancient Runes class in the afternoon because she was wiping the parchments clean in the Great Hall. Lilith left the classroom in a very hissy mood, especially after she'd been chewed out by Professor Babbling for being late.

Lilith's bad mood turned even surlier when Draco pushed past Blaise and dumped his books right next to her in their last class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lilith sent Blaise an apologetic look before turning around to find Draco slipping into the seat next to her.

"Will you _quit it?!_" Lilith shot him a death glare as he sat down, appearing as though nothing was happening between them.

"You need to help me brew the potion," He said simply as though they were discussing the weather. What he had felt before was panic and franticness, but now he was actually rather enjoying trying to make Lilith brew the poison for him. He let out a small smirk while Lilith groaned in frustration.

"Why would you need such a thing?" Lilith turned to look at him, her gaze so fierce that Draco had to blink a few times to get rid of the intensity. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to brew this potion? If I inhale it accidentally, there's a chance I might die! Only professionals should be dealing with something like this!"

"You _are_ professional enough," Draco shrugged indifferently. "I bet you got an Outstanding in Potions' class in your O.W.L.s."

"That doesn't mean I'm the best at it!" Lilith lowered her voice to a hushed whisper as Snape entered the classroom. "I've told you before. The teachers are already suspicious of me! Imagine what will happen if I get caught brewing a potion as strong as that! I'm not doing it." she added firmly before turning her attention to their teacher.

"At least think about it," He urged her. Lilith was silent for a while, thoughts running through her head in a frenzy. "I really need your help. If I don't complete my mission, then the Dark Lord will kill my entire family and everyone I care about. I can't let that happen. Please, Lilith, just think about it."

Lilith stared straight ahead at Snape and listened as intently as she could. She took no notice of Draco, who had also turned towards Snape but slouched in his chair, defeated.

To any student and even Snape, Lilith looked like a very attentive student with only one goal in mind: to listen and absorb the lesson as best as she could. Her quill was poised by her ink bottle, ready to take notes on a fresh sheet of parchment. But inside, she was in the midst of a major conflict and was barely listening to a single word Snape said. _I've got to help him. _Lilith thought. _He's been my friend since forever but this is tearing us apart._

_But if I brew this potion and am found out, then I'm doomed to a life in Azkaban. I'll probably be put in a cell with my own father. I won't ever forget the look of the teachers when I first arrived at Hogwarts. They already suspect me, but it's all thanks to Dumbledore that I'm still here studying. How can I even gather the ingredients? I do not even think that Slughorn would have half of the ingredients listed. I'm not a wonderful potion maker either._

Lilith felt like she was about to burst with frustration when a voice, a voice that she loathed, entered her mind. _Draco needs help. You agreed to help him. To go against your word, even if it means doing something you don't want to do, is very, very low for a Lestrange. Go against your word makes you an unworthy Lestrange. We are proud and higher ranked people in society, but we will always stay true to our word. A promise is a promise. They may not be as strong as Unbreakable Vows, but they do hold a certain amount of power._

For the first time in a while, Lilith decided to follow her mother's instructions; she would try and brew the potion.

With a start, she realized that she had not written now any notes and that there were only a few minutes left to class. She scribbled a few words down that she'd heard and quickly tried to concentrate on the last few minutes of the lesson. By the end of class, Lilith had very new notes compared to everyone else. She began to pack up, but her thoughts were still clouded with her newfound decision. It would require her to steal many from Slughorn _and_ somehow brew it when there's nobody around.

"Shall we go, then?" Blaise walked up to their desk, still rather ruffled by Draco's act.

"How about you go first?" Lilith said. "I have to ask Snape about our homework."

"I'll see you in the Great Hall then," Blaise said. Lilith thought she saw a twinge of annoyance in his eyes before he exited the classroom. She turned back to organizing the sheets of parchment in her bag but looked up to see Snape shoot a glare at Draco before he left the classroom as well.

"Did you think about it?" Draco asked at once, not acknowledging the glare Snape had given him.

"Yes," Lilith said slowly. "I _suppose_ I could brew the potion." She smirked at the stunned look of silence on Draco's face. He looked as though he would've kissed her.

"Thank you, Lilith," Draco said once he had composed himself. Lilith almost smiled when she saw an old twinkle return to his dull eyes. He took out the sheet of parchment again and handed it to her. Lilith didn't look at it once as she tucked it into her pocket with the golden Galleon. "It's best if the potion could be brewed by March first."

"I'll see what I can do."

"By the way, thanks for the Pink Coconut Ice," Draco said as they left the classroom together.

"No problem," Lilith said, giving him a rare smile as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "I'm glad that you liked it."

As they entered the Great Hall, the two parted ways. Lilith sat down with Blaise and Draco with Crabbe and Goyle. Lilith did her best to listen to Blaise's rant about how the food in the Great Hall was almost always the same and how there was no variety, but her eyes continued to drift towards Draco sitting a few seats opposite her and to the crumpled up piece of parchment which seemed to become heavier and heavier.

After dinner, Lilith rushed to the library, opened up some of her textbooks, took out a sheet of parchment, an ink bottle, and a quill. Then, she pulled out the parchment and read quietly, scanning the list of ingredients.

_Ingredients (excluding bloodroot) required to make this potion include:_

_-Powdered root of asphodel (2 roots)_

_-Bulbadox juice (1 cup)_

_-Lobalug venom (1/2 cup)_

_-Haliwinkles (4)_

_-Deadlyius (1)_

_-Crushed Doxy eggs (3)_

_-Venomous Tentacula leaves (6)_

_-Wormwood essence (1/3 cup)_

_-Hellebore syrup (2 cups)_

Lilith frowned a little as she reread the list. She only knew where to get a few of the ingredients. The Wormwood essence, the asphodel roots, and Hellebore syrup would be in the students' ingredients cupboard, no doubt. The Venomous Tentacula leaves Lilith could easily cut from one of Professor Sprout's greenhouses, provided that she was not caught by the teacher. Other than that, Lilith would have to find Bulbadox juice, Lobalug venom, Haliwinkles, Deadlyius, crushed doxy eggs, and bloodroot from Slughorn's personal stores.

Lilith silently thanked Merlin that there were small pictures next to each ingredient. Without them, she would've had no idea what half the ingredients were. Sighing slightly, she replaced the parchment back into her pocket, in fear of Madam Pince discovering her and shooing her out of the library for possessing such an old piece of parchment so carelessly. Just as she started her Transfiguration essay, she could not help but not concentrate.

Finally, Lilith packed up her things and headed for the greenhouses, hoping that no one would notice her disappearance.

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

**Replies to Reviews: **

**Anastasia Grigori: **Thank you so much for your feedback! :D Once I've finished writing this story, I'll be going through it and correcting things. I'll make sure to make the tenth chapter more interesting c: Thank you so much for your review!

~Ashlyn Malfoy


	13. Chapter 12: Trouble

**Chapter Twelve: Trouble**

Lilith hurriedly walked past a few students to the courtyard where some were doing their homework before curfew. She set off for the greenhouses, trying to look confident and sure of her destination. Lilith was glad that her status as a prefect allowed her to patrol the school without being questioned and she was able to arrive back in her dormitory a little later than other sixth year students.

Lilith reached the third greenhouse and looked around nervously. No one was around. Lilith spotted a box of earmuffs propped on a table beside the door and snapped a pair on. She reached out to pull the door open, but it was locked. Determined not to let this stop her, Lilith took out her wand.

"_Alohomora__!_" She whispered. With a tiny click, the door was unlocked. Lilith slipped inside quickly and pulled the door shut.

She hadn't been in the greenhouse since fifth year and most of the plants have been replaced with new ones or repositioned somewhere else in the greenhouse.

Lilith thought for a moment about casting _Lumos_, but decided against it. The light would just draw attention to her from outside and she certainly did not want to be caught in a greenhouse stealing leaves to brew a dangerous potion. She tiptoed past Mandrakes and ducked under Devil's Snares, searching for the Venomous Tentacula. She poked around and curled her lips in disgust when she saw the Bubotubers. She had always loathed the plant and how disgusting they looked. Lilith definitely did not enjoy their fourth year Herbology class when they had to squeeze the pus out of them.

Lilith cursed when she tripped over a metal watering can and hit her hip on the side of a table. She went still at once, hardly daring to breathe. Lilith wished that she could take off her earmuffs, but wished not to disturb the Mandrakes and be killed. She was glad when no one came running into the greenhouse. Her hunt for the Venomous Tentacula was not going well.

After a little while of stumbling around in the darkness, Lilith found the plant, or rather the plant found her.

"_Diffindo!_" She waved her wand at once when she felt a vine curl across her arm. The vine froze and disintegrated. Lilith turned around to find the plant sitting there idly, as though it had not just tried to kill her. Lilith had not noticed it when she passed and now she glared at the plant before walking cautiously towards it, her wand still held in front of her. She cast the Freezing Charm as a precaution and edged forward.

"Stupid plant," she muttered under her breath as she plucked six leaves as quick as she could from the still plant and stuffed them in her pocket with the instructions for Bloodroot Poison as well as her Galleon. She walked back the way she came from, being careful not to trip over anything again. Lilith hurried out of the greenhouse and cast the Locking Charm on the door before slipping back into the Hogwarts courtyard.

What had been bursting with life only a little while ago was now was as silent as a cemetery. Not a single soul in the courtyard. Lilith's heart began to pound as she quickly glanced at her watch. It was a quarter past nine. _Even my status as a prefect might not get me out of this!_ Lilith thought, beginning to panic.

She sprinted into the castle in fear of anyone seeing her. She paused every so often to catch her breath as she set off towards the dungeons. She ran, or, ran through the Bloody Baron on her way past a corner. Lilith hated the icy cold sensation she experienced, but quickly continued on her way. The Bloody Baron never questioned anyone or reported anything suspicious. That is, if they were in his House. Lilith was glad that he was the Slytherin ghost. If she had run into any other ghosts, then she would be reported in no time.

Lilith was careful to walk as quickly as she could through the many twists and turns, but made sure that she wouldn't bump into anything. The pathway to the common room was difficult to follow and remember. Lilith recalled getting lost several times when she was a first year. Now, she reckon she could walk through the dungeons blindfolded and would still make it to the common room.

Halfway through her journey in the dark dungeons, when she was sure no one was looking, her hand slipped into her pocket. She was pulling out the tiny leaves to count them when she accidentally bumped into someone.

"_Lumos!_" Lilith whipped out her wand at once, fear shooting down her veins as she shoved the leaves back down her pocket. After blinking away the bright light at the tip of her wand, she realized she was face-to-face with Draco who looked just as startled as she did. She lowered her wand slowly. "Shouldn't you be in the common room with the rest of our House?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Draco said after his eyes adjusted to the sudden light.

"I was collecting some ingredients for Professor Slughorn and I was patrolling the corridors," Lilith said, choosing her words carefully. _You never know if Peeves is listening nearby._ Draco gave a nod of understanding before walking past her, as though dismissing their entire conversation. Lilith frowned slightly as she watched him melt away into the shadows.

"You're going to the hidden room on the seventh floor, aren't you?"

He froze for a moment before turning around slowly. Grey clashed with amber as they stared at each other, neither of them averting their eyes. Lilith refused to drop her gaze; she was determined to find out where he was going.

"Yes," He replied at last, letting out a small sigh. He looked slightly ashamed of himself.

"What are you doing up there?" Lilith asked at once. When Draco said nothing, she pressed on. "You'll have to tell me at some point." Draco hesitated a little, his gaze dropping temporarily.

"I'm mending something."

"Mending something?" Lilith had not expected such a response. She had always thought he was perhaps training or meeting up with Death Eaters on the seventh floor corridor.

"Yes," Draco nodded. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to finish mending this object by a certain date or else my family dies." Lilith saw a twinkle of humor in his pale eyes.

"All right then," Lilith told him, smiling a little. "Good night, then."

"Good night, Lilith," Draco said before turning around. Lilith could've sworn she saw the faintest trace of a smile on his face.

A few days later, luckily, Lilith had Potions' class. She sat beside at the Slytherin table with Blaise and doodled on her textbook absentmindedly. Slughorn was talking about Golpalott's Third Law, which no one seemed to understand except for Granger. _Pathetic show-off_, Lilith thought, rolling her eyes.

"... and so," finished Slughorn, "I want each of you to come and take one of these phials from my desk. You are to create an antidote for the poison within it before the end of the lesson. Good luck, and don't forget your protective gloves!"

By the time Lilith had realized that they were to get a phial, half the class were already at the ingredients' cupboard. She hurried to Slughorn's desk and took a phial containing a sickly yellow chunky liquid, somewhat resembling barf. She proceeded to the ingredients' cupboard and saw her chance. There weren't many people at the cupboard.

Lilith saw the tiny bottles of Wormwood essence and Hellebore syrup at once. She took a bottle of each and stuffed them in her robe pockets quickly. She looked around swiftly and located the asphodel roots by the bezoars. She took a few and put them in her pocket as well. After gathering up a few ingredients that might be useful for her phial, she hurried back to her seat.

Lilith shoved the two bottles and the roots into her schoolbag and tried to focus on getting the antidote for her potion. Lilith dipped half the phial into her cauldron and began kindling a fire underneath it. She experimentally poured a few drops of Flobberworm Mucus onto the sticky potion. It turned an ugly shade of brown and began to smell of rotten eggs, but once Lilith dropped a few porcupine quills in, it turned paler and start to bubble.

Once the time was up, Lilith's potion was bubbling along quite well, though she was nowhere close to finishing the task. Slughorn gave her potion an approving nod before moving on. As she waited for class to end, Lilith's gaze landed on the door to Slughorn's personal stores. It had been left ajar.

After class, Lilith lagged behind to clean up her potion, which stuck stubbornly to the bottom of her cauldron.

"You can go on without me," Lilith told Blaise, who waited for her by the dungeon door. He was still a little ruffled by Draco's act a few days earlier. "I'll be out soon."

"I'll meet you in the library," He said flatly, before leaving. Slughorn left soon after, presumably to take a break before the next class comes in.

Seeing her chance, Lilith sprinted to Slughorn's personal stores. She took out the instructions for the potion and glanced around wildly, trying to locate some of the ingredients. She spotted the Lobalug venom and stuffed the jar into her schoolbag along with a few Doxy eggs. She delved deeper and found Deadlyius, Haliwinkles, and Bulbadox juice along with many ingredients Lilith had never even heard of or seen before. Only when she heard the sounds of third years coming down to the classroom did she find bloodroot.

The label on the jar said that it had been collected very recently and still had 13 days before it shrivelled up. She stuffed it in her bag and hurried out just as a third year walked in. Lilith grabbed her cauldron and walked out the door, knocking several students aside in her hurry.

Her heart was pounding as she fast-walked into her dormitory and set her cauldron now along with her now-heavy schoolbag. Lilith sat on her bed for a few moments, trying to catch her breath.

"Where can I possibly brew this potion?" Lilith muttered as she took some books out of her bag and dumped them back into her trunk. "I certainly can't brew it in the Potions' classroom, or any of the dungeons. The prefects' bathroom would work, if only there weren't prefects using it."

Her mind wandered to all sorts of places where she could possibly brew the potion. There were a few classrooms that were rarely used but Lilith couldn't take such a huge risk. Peeves was known for inhabiting unused classrooms and Lilith didn't want to be caught by the poltergeist. Then, a thought occurred to her. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

It was never used and only Moaning Myrtle would be there. Lilith never quite liked the ghost, but have encountered her a few times. Lilith took a spare cauldron from their dormitory and walked out of the common room, heading for the second floor girls' lavatory. A few students were running to class, but no one paid Lilith any attention as she slipped into the bathroom.

She hurried to one of the last stalls in the bathroom and shut the door. Lilith scattered the ingredients on the floor and rested the cauldron on the toilet seat. She pulled out the instructions for the potion and read it careful. Lilith waved her wand and Bluebell Flames appeared under her cauldron. It wasn't as strong as real fire, but it would have to do.

Lilith got out her silver Potions' knife and cut and squashed the asphodel roots until they were fine powder before adding them in along with a cup of murky green Bulbadox juice. She smoothed out the instructions and read on.

_After the Bulbadox juice and crushed roots of asphodel are added in, stir nine times counterclockwise and add in a crushed Doxy egg every three turns._

Lilith began stirring slowly, very much afraid that she would mess up and the potion would explode. She crushed a Doxy egg and dumped it into the mixture. The potion turned from dark green to a pale bubbling pale after she added the other two Doxy eggs in. Lilith was relieved to find out that she was brewing the potion right so far; the green matched the one on the piece of parchment exactly. The next set of instructions were as follows:

_Leave the potion to brew at medium temperature for two days and add the four Haliwinkles mashed together with Deadlyius. Stir two times clockwise and add in two Venomous Tentacula leaves._

Lilith tidied up the rest of the ingredients and left the potion brewing, feeling rather accomplished. _Perhaps I _can_ brew this potion after all_, she thought as she exited the bathroom.

She hurried to the library, where Blaise was glancing at his watch and gathering up his textbooks and parchment. Lilith glanced at her own watch and gasped. There were only a few minutes remaining until their next class.

"Where were you?" Blaise demanded as soon as Lilith appeared beside him. His hazel eyes were as arrogant and haughty as ever, something that Lilith had begun to loathe deeply over the last few days. "You said you only needed a few minutes."

"I was-" Lilith began angrily, but she was cut off.

"With Malfoy, I assume?" Blaise's eyes darkened as he continued to shove textbooks into his bag. "What is it between you two anyway?" Lilith clenched her fist, the other slipped into her pocket and gripped her wand.

"There's nothing between us!" Lilith raised her voice, positively furious by then. A faint shadow of her father appeared in her pale face as she scowled murderously at him. She did not care that a few seventh years studying beside them had turned around to stare. "What's it to you?" Lilith began running through a list of hexes in her mind. It did not occur to her that there were teachers and students in the library. All she wanted was to curse the living daylights out of Blaise Zabini.

"I can see it, you want to be with him-"

"I do _not_!"

"_Silence in the library!_" Madam Pince appeared behind a bookcase, glaring coldly at both of them. "If you are not here to study, then leave! Go discuss your romance issues elsewhere! Go on, go!"

Lilith turned and left the library without a second thought, fuming. Her hand was still tightly clenched around her wand. _Annoying bastard_, Lilith thought savagely as she continued to her Ancient Runes lesson. With her fiery eyes and bared teeth, even Millicent Bulstrode kept her distance from her in class._  
_

Two days later, Lilith returned to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She had asked to go use the lavatory in Professor Flitwick's class and had been granted permission because she had finished her charms earlier than others in the class.

Lilith went straight to the last stall and was relieved to find that the potion was still brewing nicely. She mashed up the Haliwinkles and Deadlyius and ended up with chunky bits of blue grass and black mushroom. Lilith dumped the mixture into her potion, making sure to wear her dragon hide gloves. She wasn't exactly sure if Deadlyius and Haliwinkles were poisonous but she didn't want to end up dead.

She stirred the potion, which turned bright yellow. After two full stirs, Lilith added in two leaves and the effect was immediate. The potion turned a violent shade of brown and turned gooey, resembling mud. Startled, Lilith dug out the instructions and read them before letting out a sigh of relief. She was following the instructions correctly. The next line read,

_Pour half a cup of Lobalug venom and immediately after that, add in two cups of Hellebore syrup as well as another two Venomous Tentacula leaves. Lower the temperature of the fire and leave to brew for five days._

Lilith poured the shimmering red Lobalug venom into a cup and the honey-like blue Hellebore syrup into two cups. She poured the venom into the cauldron and quickly poured the two cups of syrup in too. Lilith dropped another two Venomous Tentacula leaves in and lowered the temperature of the Bluebell flames. The potion turned a sickly grey.

Letting out a sigh of relief that her potion was still correct, Lilith hurried back to Charms class.

After Charms, Lilith went down to the Great Hall for lunch, certain that she could finish brewing the potion. As Lilith lowered gravy onto her mashed potatoes, Draco slid into the seat next to her.

"How's the potion brewing?" Draco asked quietly, as he pulled a basket of rolls over to them. "I need it to be completed as soon as possible."

"There's one stage left," Lilith told him, lowing her voice. "It should be finished in five days' time. What should I do with it once it's finished?"

"Madam Rosmerta will be bringing oak mead to Hogwarts as a late Christmas present," Draco whispered to her at once. It seemed as though he'd thought it out for a long time. "She will be handing it to Slughorn so he can pass it on. You'll have to find a way to sneak the poison into the mead."

"And who's the mead for?" Lilith asked curiously. "Surely not Slughorn?" Lilith knew that the Dark Lord had been trying to recruit him over the summer but had been unsuccessful.

"No, it's not, and you don't need to know that yet," Draco shook his head. Lilith pursed her lips. "But I'll tell you once the time is right."

"All right then," Lilith dropped the topic and turned back to her lunch.

"Not on good terms with Zabini as of late?" Draco began talking normally again. Lilith could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

"Nope, we are not on good terms," Lilith confirmed, pouring herself a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Couple squabble?" This time, Draco was really smirking. Lilith felt a smile tug at her lips. Draco was showing his usual cheeky self, for what seemed like the first time in forever.

"We are not a couple and I doubt that we ever will be," Lilith said rather coldly, masking her true emotions.

"You went to the Yule Ball with him _and _Slughorn's Christmas Party-"

"His mother set us for the Yule Ball and we went as friends to Slughorn's party," Lilith replied dismissively. She had danced with Blaise a few times during the Yule Ball, but neither of them really enjoyed going with each other.

"Ah," Draco nodded in understanding. "Well, I best be off. I have other things to do. I'll see you in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lilith." And with that, Draco left the Great Hall.

Five days later, Lilith had another free period once again and took that opportunity to check her potion. It had matured over the course of five days and was now a darker shade of grey. Lilith took out the potion instructions and read the final few lines.

_Once the potion has matured, stir it three times, alternating between clockwise and counterclockwise turns. Add in 1/3 cup of Wormwood essence and the last two Venomous Tentacula leaves. Now comes the final stage. (Remember to wear dragon hide gloves) Take the bloodroot and separate the petals from the flower. Crush the petals until they are very fine and sprinkle it along the edges of the potion. Hold your breath, or try to breathe as little as possible when this is done._

_After the crushed petals are added to the potion, cut up the stems of this flowering plant to one inch pieces. Add in the stems and stir ten times counterclockwise. The potion should now be transparent and resemble water._

Lilith got her stirring spoon and stirred the potion three times, clockwise, counterclockwise, and clockwise. She measured the right amount of Wormwood essence and added it in along with the leaves. The potion was becoming less stickier and more watery by the second.

Shakily, Lilith put on her dragon hide gloves and took the bloodroot from its jar. She plucked the petals from the flower and placed them in the mortar. Lilith breathed as little as possible as she crushed the petals. She pinched some and sprinkled it along the edges of the potion, hardly daring to breathe. Then, she focused on the stem. Measuring it carefully, Lilith got out her silver knife and cut them as exactly as possible before adding them into the potion.

Lilith picked up her stirring spoon once more and began to stir ten times counterclockwise. To her relief, the potion became more and more transparent until it looked exactly like normal tap water. It wasn't a huge potion, so Lilith scooped it up and placed it into a jar. She made sure the lid was screwed on tightly before she let out a sigh of relief. _I did it._

* * *

Please review! Feedback is very important to me, good or bad. Feel free to tear it apart and do your best to criticize the living daylights out of me. I will take your feedback to heart and do my best to improve this story the best I can :)

Also, I'd like to thank Yemi Hikari for being my Beta Reader for this story and looking over it before I publish the chapter :)

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~Ashlyn Malfoy


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